Dr. Kevin Zorn, MD, FRCPC, Urologist

Duration: 2 minutes and 21 seconds

Greenlight is one of the laser energies that has a specific role, specifically in elderly men, men with comorbidities and certainly men who are taking blood thinners. So, if you're on aspirin or Plavix or Coumadin, Greenlight is the procedure with the validated and long standing demonstration of safety and efficacy in this group of patients.

This procedure is called PVP or ‘photo vaporization of the prostate’. The unique wavelength of green light looks green to the naked eye and passes like a column right through the water and is absorbed into the tissue to heat the tissue over 100 degrees Celsius. And this does the vaporization. It's almost like Darth Vader's lightsaber. The laser is very intense, which makes the tissue bubble and vaporize and disappear. This creates also a thin layer of coagulation, so there's really no bleeding.

The nice thing that while we're doing green light, we're using normal saline which is very different than the electrolyte components during a standard TURP, in which the glysine or other hypotonic solutions are used, so that during the procedure, we can go beyond one hour, whatever is absorbed won't cause any abnormalities within the bloodstream. Also, the transfusion rate is exceptionally low, less than point 1% compared to two 2- 3% for standard TURP.

Urologist who performed Greenlight can safely spend more than one hour to treat prostates of all volumes and sizes, very different than standard TURP. It really depends on the technique also of the urologist but the true benefit is that to the patient, and that no matter what volume prostate is being performed with Greenlight, they are discharged home the same day with a two way catheter, rather than with TURP the three way catheter with bladder irrigation for at least one or two nights.

We have previously published our data on now over eight years experience with green light, and our retreatment rate was less than 1.8%.

For more information on BPH therapies and evaluation, speak to your family physician to consultation to your local urologist.

Presenter: Dr. Kevin Zorn, Urologist, Montreal, QC

Local Practitioners: Urologist