Stillwater Medical is the first in Central Oklahoma to offer Aquablation therapy for the treatment of lower urinary tract symptoms, including benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH), commonly referred to as an enlarged prostate.
One in two men ages 51 to 60 have BPH, and the incidence increases every decade of life. BPH is a non-cancerous condition where the prostate has grown to be larger than normal. If left untreated, BPH can cause significant health problems, including irreversible bladder or kidney damage, bladder stones and incontinence.
“This is a very big development for BPH care,” said Dr. Nathan Rademaker. “Aquablation therapy gives patients better outcomes with very limited side effects compared to traditional treatment options.”
Current BPH surgical treatments often force men to tradeoff between symptom relief and side effects such as incontinence or sexual dysfunction, which are irreversible complications.
Aquablation therapy combines real-time, multi-dimensional imaging, robotic guidance, and heat-free waterjet ablation of prostate tissue to address urinary symptoms associated with BPH. Surgeons can create a personalized treatment plan tailored to each patient’s prostate anatomy. Once the map is complete, the robotically controlled waterjet ablates the prostate tissue, avoiding critical structures to preserve sexual function and continence. Additionally, patients spend less time under anesthesia, reducing those associated risks.
This latest innovation better equips the team of doctors at Stillwater Urology Specialists to care for patients. Local urologists Dr. Rademaker and Dr. Marshall Shaw are both trained in this new procedure, which they’ll offer for the first time in Stillwater this month.
“In the past, we had to make procedural decisions based on the size and anatomy of the prostate. The good thing about this procedure is it addresses prostates of all sizes, so it’s a wonderful option for almost all BPH patients,” said Dr. Shaw.
Urology is a progressive field with a high aptitude for using new technologies for treatment. Yet, many people suffer from untreated urological issues because patients are uncomfortable talking about them.
“There are a lot of problems in urology that have solutions. If you can improve the urological system, you can really improve a patient’s quality of life. That’s what excites me about this field and motivates me to do this work,” Dr. Shaw said.
Both Rademaker and Shaw believe Aquablation therapy is the future of BPH treatment, and look forward to providing patients with the most advanced procedure available thanks to this new technology.
