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| Bone assessment apparatus and method |
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| Methods for conducting electron beam lithography |
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| Optimal pulse defibrillator |
| OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS FIG. 1A illustrates a particular voltage-time waveform 10 of a ... |
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| Convertible thermal blanket |
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Interstitial laser coagulation treatment for benign prostatic hyperplasia
| Details |
Inventors: Hofstetter, Alfons; Muschter, Rolf; Hessel, Stefan; Frank, Frank;
Assignee: Messerschmitt-Boelkow-Blohm AG (DE)
Primary Examiner: Pellegrino; Stephen C.
Assistant Examiner: Harris; Sonya
Attorney, Agent or Firm: Evenson, McKeown, Edwards & Lenahan
A method of treating benign prostatic hyperplasia employs the steps of inserting a diffusing light guide into a prostrate lobe and providing laser power to the diffusing light guide in order to necrose surrounding tissue. The diffusing light guide can be inserted into the central or lateral prostrate lobes by inserting a needle and a trocar transperineally into the middle of the lateral lobe, removing the trocar, inserting the diffusing light guide, and monitoring the position of the needle, trocar, and diffusing light guide using ultrasound. The diffusing light guide can also be inserted into the central or lateral prostrate lobes transurethrally and positioned with the aid of an urethroscope. |
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DETAILED DESCRIPTION This invention relates to the field of treating benign prostatic hyperplasia and more particularly to the field of treating benign prostatic hyperplasia with laser energy.
Open surgery and transurethral resection are increasingly reliable and safe procedures for treating benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH).
The trend towards minimally invasive modes of therapy, however, can also be observed with respect to BPH.
One reason is that as life expectancy grows, there is a greater number of aged patients who reach the stage where they require treatment, some of them suffering from BPH in addition to other conditions.
Secondly, a large number of patients are simply afraid of surgical intervention and the possibility of complications.
This is proven not only by the widespread use of phytopharmacological preparations, but also by the fact that new therapeutic approaches tend to become quickly popular, for example hyperthermia.
The current literature reports on a multitude of rediscovered and novel treatment concepts, which include various pharmacological methods, balloon dilatation, intraprostatic stents, focussed ultrasound therapy and cryosurgery, as well as different systems of hyperthermia and thermotherapy, where microwaves, for example, are applied transrectally or transurethrally.
Several work groups have been working with transurethral laser applications.
Interstitial application, although arguably a logical next step, has so far been problematic: the customarily used bare fibers or contact tips led to a high concentration of heat, which resulted in uncontrollable carbonization, a process that absorbs laser rays and consequently prevents deep coagulation of the tissues.
It is known that an Nd:YAG laser (such as the Medilas 4060N fiberTome.
TM.
, MBB Medizintechnik GmbH, Munich, Germany and Sharplan 3000 laser from Laser Industries Ltd.
, Tel Aviv, Israel) produces deep tissue coagulation in a minimally invasive manner, produces favorable coagulation properties, and has the ability to deliver radiation through light guides
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Obesity Surgery 
