Dr Paul Ngwu, Consultant Urologist, Laparoscopic Surgeon and Head of Surgery at the Federal Medical Centre, Umuahia, Abia State, has said that a new minimally invasive laser procedure used in treating enlarged prostate cases significantly reduces surgical risks, prevents severe complications and helps avoid kidney failure in affected patients.
Ngwu said the technology offers a safer alternative to traditional open surgery for men with severe prostate enlargement.
“It is an improved technology for removing the enlarged prostate without having to cut the body open, as it were.”
He explained that the laser-based procedure, known as thulium fibre laser enucleation of the prostate (ThuFLEP), uses energy delivered through a fibre to remove the enlarged prostate tissue completely with precision and reduced physical trauma. “It is an improved technology for removing the enlarged prostate without having to cut the body open, as it were. So it works with a fibre. If you look at the video, there’s a fibre, a blue fibre, that’s through the energy, the laser energy. Laser is an energy that is used for a lot of things, both medically and otherwise. So the laser energy passes through the fibre and is used to remove the prostate from its covering for a complete removal of an enlarged prostate. That is what the tholium laser does. That’s why it’s called tholium fibre. Then laser inoculation. Inoculation means complete removal.”
Dr Ngwu said the condition is common among men and worsens with age, often leading to urinary obstruction that affects kidney function if left untreated. “The prostate is an organ that sits just under the bladder. It sits under the bladder. Every man has got a prostate. Every man that is born is born with a prostate. So the prostate sits under the bladder and the prostate is one organ that keeps increasing in size as a man increases in age from teenagehood upwards. So the prostate keeps increasing in size. So as the prostate keeps increasing in size, because the bladder is just sitting above it and the pipe through which urine flows passes through the centre of the prostate all the way out for the ejection of urine. So as the prostate starts increasing in size, we discover that in a number of men, this pipe is being compressed by this progressively enlarging prostate. So that is what causes the issue of urination problems in men. Poor urine flow, difficulty urination and all the rest of them in men.”
He warned that delayed treatment can lead to serious complications, including kidney failure, which he said is frequently seen in severe cases that present late to hospitals. “We see men come, at the point of death, because they have an enlarged prostate and they didn’t know what to do about it when they were supposed to do something about it.”
The surgeon said urine blockage caused by an enlarged prostate can back up into the kidneys, leading to long-term damage and potentially life-threatening kidney failure. “When urine starts flowing back to the kidneys, you just discover that the kidneys will start going into what you call failure.”
He noted that while medications are used in early cases to relax the prostate and improve urine flow, some patients eventually require surgical intervention when drugs no longer work.
“The drugs are no longer sufficient.”
Dr Ngwu said the laser procedure is particularly effective for large prostates that previously required open surgery, allowing even very large glands to be removed safely without major incisions. “These enucleation processes using the laser can be used to completely remove even the very big prostates without the need for open surgery as well.”
He added that the technique significantly reduces complications such as bleeding and transfusion requirements due to its precision.
“You discover that you remove a 150g prostate, 200g prostate, 250g prostate, and you don’t need to give a patient blood.”
Dr Ngwu also said concerns about sexual dysfunction are often misplaced, adding that the procedure does not typically affect erections when properly performed.
“Once it is done with the modern equipment that we use, it does not affect erections.”
He urged men to seek early medical attention when symptoms such as difficulty urinating begin. “We see men come, at the point of death, because they have an enlarged prostate and they didn’t know what to do about it when they were supposed to do something about it. Now, if a prostate gets enlarged and is blocking the urinary flow, the bladder gets distended and urine starts flowing back to the kidneys. When urine starts flowing back to the kidneys, you just discover that the kidneys will start going into what you call failure. And kidney failure is not something you can joke about. Once your kidney fails, you’re in a very big problem. Prevention is still better than talking about taking care of the complications that come with an enlarged prostate that is left without doing.”
