An expert on why HoLEP is a “platinum standard” procedure

In this video, Amy E. Krambeck, MD, discusses the key advantages of holmium laser enucleation of the prostate. Krambeck is a professor of urology at the Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine in Chicago, Illinois.

Transcription:

Given the evolving landscape of minimally invasive prostate surgery, what are the key advantages of HoLEP that continue to make it a preferred option for many patients and surgeons today?

I would say that I have always touted HoLEP as being the platinum standard, and I still believe that it's true. Despite the fact that multiple new procedures have come to light, nothing has the same excellent outcomes as HoLEP. The benefits of HoLEP range in the short term—a lot of times, you can get the catheter out within hours of the surgery. Patients can go home the same day, they're urinating well immediately, and they can get back to their regular activities in the course of days to weeks. In the long term, HoLEP is one of the few procedures that we have 20-year data on, and we know that the retreatment rate is around 1% at 18 to 20 years after surgery, so it has that longevity aspect to it that you just don't see with newer era procedures. The only problem with HoLEP is that it's difficult to learn. It requires a certain amount of dedication and time on the part of the surgeon to learn the technique and to do it well, and I think that's always been the biggest barrier with HoLEP, and it still is a barrier today.

This transcript was AI generated and edited by human editors for clarity.