Frequent toilet visits and difficulty emptying the bladder affect many men with age. The cause is usually an enlarged prostate gland. An alternative to traditional surgical 'shaving' (TURP) is microwave treatment, called transurethral microwave therapy (TUMT).
Urologist Johan Nyman at Kalix Hospital is the only one performing this procedure in Norrbotten. Kalix Hospital is one of few in Sweden offering TUMT and the only one in the county. The target group is patients who cannot empty their bladder properly.
It started with a study visit to Norrland University Hospital in Umeå in 2014 to study how they worked with the method there. Now we have done over 250 treatments in Kalix since 2015 and the first 159 treatments we have also evaluated with good results.
Over 250 treatments have been performed in Kalix since 2015, with the first 159 evaluated with good results. 'It started with a study visit to Norrland University Hospital in Umeå in 2014. Now we have done over 250 treatments since 2015 and evaluated the first 159 with good results,' said Johan Nyman.
The 'golden' surgical method, TURP, requires anesthesia and hospital admission and is performed at Gällivare and Sunderbyn hospitals in Norrbotten. With TUMT, patients can go home after about an hour if there are no complications. 'Our patients can go home after about an hour if there are no complications,' Nyman stated.
Our patients can go home after about an hour if there are no complications.
Advantages include real-time temperature monitoring and treatment times of 6-15 minutes, compared to over an hour with older methods. 'The advantages include following temperature rise in real time and effective treatment time of 6-15 minutes depending on prostate size,' Nyman explained. A urological investigation, including ultrasound, determines prostate size and weight.
Among the first 159 patients, the average weight was 94 grams, with the threshold for a large prostate at 100 grams. The largest treated weighed 260 grams. 'Among the first 159 patients, the average weight was 94 grams and the largest was 260 grams,' Nyman said.
A prostate usually weighs around 20 grams at age 20 and often enlarges with age. The long-term success rate of TUMT remains unknown.