Surgery Overview

This procedure involves removal of part of the prostate gland through the urethra.

A long, thin tube with a viewing instrument (cystoscope) attached is inserted into the urethra. Prostate tissue is removed through the cystoscope.

What To Expect

You are usually hospitalized for 2 to 3 days. Complete recovery typically requires 3 to 4 weeks.

Why It Is Done

This surgery may be done for:

• Chronic bacterial prostatitis that resists antibiotic treatment, with or without infected prostate stones ( prostatic calculi).
• Repeated urinary tract infections because of another prostate problem for which surgery may be appropriate, such as prostate enlargement (benign prostatic hyperplasia, or BPH).

How Well It Works

Very few studies have been done to see how well this surgery works for prostatitis. It is not usually recommended as a treatment for prostatitis.^{footnote 1}

Risks

• Urinary incontinence
• Inability to get or keep an erection (erectile dysfunction)
• Retrograde ejaculation. This means that semen flows the wrong way, from the prostate to the bladder rather than from the prostate through the penis.