Last Updated:
Israel PM Benjamin Netanyahu Undergoes Prostate Surgery: A Wake-Up Call for Prostate Health Awareness
Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu
As per the reports Benjamin Netanyahu, Prime Minister of Israel recently diagnosed to have urinary tract infection due prostate enlargement. Its time to bring prostate health into the spotlight and spread knowledge in terms of early detection and treatment.
Dr Rajesh Kumar Reddy Adapala, Consultant Uro-Oncologist, Asian institute of Uro-oncology and Robotic surgery, AINU, Banjara Hills shares all you need to know:
What is Prostate Gland? Where is it located?
Prostate gland is a part of the genitourinary system. Located below the urinary bladder and surround the urethra. It is about the size of a walnut but it grows with age. There are two major functions of this gland. First one, prostate produces some kind of fluid to nourish spermatozoa, second one, it acts as bladder outlet and prevents urine to leak.
What are the warning signs of prostate enlargement?
As already discussed, prostate is located below the bladder acting like outlet and surrounds urethra. Once it gets enlarged patient can have set of symptoms called LUTS i.e lower urinary tract symptoms. They usually present with difficulty in passing urine, urinary frequency, urgency, poor flow and rarely blood in the urine.
Do all patients with prostate enlargement has cancer?
Answer is clear ‘NO’. Most of the times prostate enlarges due to age related hormonal imbalance. It’s called benign enlargement of prostate. It’s a non-cancerous condition. However before labeling the prostate enlargement as non-cancerous, one has to undergo thorough evaluation to rule out prostate cancer. Urologist performs rectal examination, Blood test to see PSA (Prostate specific antigen) levels and if required MRI and biopsy to rule out prostate cancer.
What’s the treatment of benign enlargement of prostate?
There are few medications widely available for symptom relief. These medications are call Alpha blockers, act by relaxing bladder outlet and facilitates free flow of urine. If patient has intractable symptoms- Urologist performs a surgery called Trans-urethral Resection of prostate i.e TURP.
What’s Trans-urethral Resection of prostate (TURP) procedure?
It’s a kind of endoscopic procedure, where Urologist passes a telescope with working elements and resect the obstructed part of the prostate by using current energy and clear the urinary passage. After the procedure he places a urine catheter which will be removed after couple of days. Patient will resume urination with good flow. If prostate if very large Urologist prefers laser (most commonly Holmium laser) instead of current energy.
Most important note is- surgeries for benign enlargement removes only the center part of the prostate to clear the obstruction. Patient still has risk of developing cancer in the remaining peripheral part of prostate. Hence he should be under regular surveillance.
What is prostate Cancer?
It is a disordered, uncontrolled and abnormal proliferation of prostate tissue to form tumors. This happens due to some kind of mutations in the cells. If the tumor is within the gland, the cancer is said to be localized and potentially curable. If the cancer escapes the gland it is considered advanced disease. Hence early detection before the cancer escapes the gland becomes very important.
What is the surgical treatment of localized prostate cancer?
Localized prostate cancer, means cancer hasn’t spread to any other partes of the body, is potentially curable. Robotic surgery is the main stay of treatment. The robot provides 3D vision and flexible movements of robotic instruments. This facilitates better surgical dissection with excellent precision. Small nerve fibers around the prostate which are responsible for urine control and potency, can be preserved during the procedure. We usually call as nerve sparing prostatectomy. Other major advantages of robotic surgeries are less blood loss, early recovery, small surgical scars and fewer complications. Hence, currently robotic surgery is considered as gold standard treatment for the prostate cancer across the world.