Dr. De on recent advances in HoLEP for BPH

In this video, Smita De, MD, PhD, highlights some of the recent advances with holmium laser enucleation of the prostate (HoLEP) for the treatment of benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) that have led to its more widespread adoption by urologists in the US. De is an endourologist at the Cleveland Clinic in Cleveland, Ohio.

Video Transcript:

I think one of the best things that's come up over the last couple of years is the development of much better simulators for training people in HoLEP. Back when I went through training, there were really no good trainer boxes, simulators, anything like that. Again, one of the big criticisms for HoLEP and why it hasn't really been adopted in the US very much up to this point, is that there was a very steep learning curve, and people just simply weren't able to put in the time and the number of cases to get to the point where they felt comfortable and were efficient. In the last couple of years, there have been at least 2 sets of great tissue simulators that have come out. I think they're really providing an opportunity for learning HoLEP.

There are quite a few courses that have been popping up, either ones that are put by our various societies, like the AUA or the Endourological Society. There are ones that are being put on by universities all over the country. There are ones that are being sponsored by companies. I think there's actually a lot more opportunity to learn, and those of us who are in practice are also very excited to proctor and help mentor people, because we all really believe in HoLEP or prostate enucleation. This combination of having the simulators along with a pretty good group of people who are willing to train is going to be great for promoting the growth of HoLEP in the US and abroad as well.