Introducing UroLift: Solving One Of Men’s Most Common Health Issues

May 22, 2018

Difficulty urinating. A sudden, overwhelming need to find a restroom. Frequent nighttime trips to the bathroom. It’s a list of symptoms that men with an enlarged prostate, including Jim Stoddard, are all-too-familiar with.

Despite taking three medications for benign prostatic hyperplasia or BPH, the 62-year-old information technology manager’s symptoms continued to grow worse. “You’re exhausted from waking up every 2 or 3 hours to visit the bathroom, and you’re constantly worried about when the next problem will occur,” explains the Yorba Linda resident. “It takes too much from your life.”

Alan Weinberg, MD, FACS, a board-certified urologist at St. Jude Medical Center, suggested a simple, FDA-approved procedure called UroLift. The second day after the outpatient procedure, Jim was back at the gym, his symptoms were gone and, for the first time in 15 years, he slept through the night. “That feeling of waking up refreshed and rested was amazing,” he explains.

Urologists at St. Jude Medical Center are using the minimally-invasive procedure to treat successfully one of the most common issues men face with aging—low or blocked urine flow due to an enlarged prostate—without cutting, heating, or removing prostate tissue. By simply pulling back the tissue that is pressing on the urethra (much like curtain tie-backs), UroLift offers an effective solution that avoids the side effects of other treatments and preserves sexual function.

Dr. Weinberg and St. Jude board-certified urologist Michael Gazzaniga, MD, were both recently designated as a Center of Excellence in the innovative procedure by NeoTract, manufacturer of the UroLift implant. Of the nearly 12,000 urologists across the nation, only a handful have achieved this designation.

More than half of all men in their 60s and as many as 90 percent of men in their 70s and 80s have symptoms of an enlarged prostate, which often includes frequent urination with hesitant or interrupted stream as well as urinary urgency or leaking.

“For men who want to avoid surgery or a lifetime of medications, UroLift is an important breakthrough,” explains Dr. Gazzaniga, who together with Dr. Weinberg have performed over 300 of the procedures. “Men often blame urinary problems on aging and don’t seek help, while others consider treatment but reject it out of concern over side effects such as sexual dysfunction or incontinence. UroLift offers a safe, permanent solution, minus the side effects.”

To find a complete list of physicians who offer UroLift, please visit stjudemedicalcenter.org/urolift.

Please join us a for a free community presentation.

Introducing UroLift: Giving Men Back Their Quality of Life | July 16, 6 p.m.

Most men over 60 have symptoms of an enlarged prostate—known as benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH)—which often include frequent urination with hesitant or interrupted stream as well as urinary urgency or leaking. Join Michael Gazzaniga, MD, Eric Tygenhof, MD, and Alan Weinberg, MD, widely respected urologists at St. Jude Medical Center, who routinely performs the outpatient procedure: pulling back the prostate tissue that is pressing on the urethra with tiny permanent stents. The result is a highly-effective, minimally-invasive solution that avoids the side effects of medications and surgery. They will discuss why most men are eligible as well as how the procedure stacks up against other treatment options.

To RSVP, please call (877) 459 DOCS (3627) or visit stjudemedicalcenter.org/healthclasses.

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