Dr. Marhamati on Aquablation in an ambulatory surgery center

Potomac Urology has become the first US-based location to offer Aquablation for benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) in an ambulatory surgery center (ASC) setting. In this interview, Shawn H. Marhamati, MD, MS, provides an overview of the ASC trial and shares insight into the key benefits of the treatment. Marhamati is a urologist at Potomac Urology in Northern Virginia.

Video Transcript:

Could you discuss the ongoing trial of Aquablation in an ASC setting?

We are very excited here at Potomac Urology to be the first center in the United States, and just the second center internationally, to offer ambulatory surgery center Aquablation as part of a pilot trial. We launched on January 26th of this year, and thus far, we've completed 15 cases without any complications or readmissions. The purpose of this ongoing trial is to examine the clinical and economic feasibility of performing Aquablation in an ASC environment.

When did you begin performing Aquablation? What attributes attracted you to the technology?

Our center began performing Aquablation just after its FDA approval in 2017. Thus far, we've performed over 1100 procedures in the hospital setting. What attracted us to the technology is that it really represents the best of both worlds in that it provides the efficacy and durability of a resective procedure, while at the same time offering the safety and side effect profile of a minimally invasive surgical technology.

What are the advantages of using Aquablation over other modalities?

The primary advantage of Aquablation is that because it is an image-guided robotic technology, it is standardized and reproducible. I absolutely love that I can generally predict down to about 5 minutes, exactly how long a procedure is going to take based on gland size and shape. In my eyes, this is the least variable and most efficient resective procedure currently on the market.

This transcription has been edited for clarity.