The basic goal of the procedure is to remove just a minimum amount of prostate tissue to allow adequate flow through the prostate. This is done by making a simple cut or incision along the entire length of the prostate. Because of the circular muscle fibers running around the prostate, the TUIP allows the bladder neck to spring open and allows free urinary flow. TUIP is particularly beneficial for smaller prostates and does have a lower incidence of ejaculation disturbances. The success rates for TUIP are about the same as transurethral resection of the prostate, but only in those patients that are carefully selected.
Hospital stays and recovery are much shorter.
For the past few years, balloon dilation has been used clinically as an alternative to prostatectomy. It is very similar to the angioplasties done for coronary artery disease. Basically, a balloon is placed into the prostatic channel, either by finger guidance or telescopic guidance, and the balloon is then inflated to stretch the prostate channel. This has the apparent end result of tearing the prostate gland, creating an opening in the urinary channel. No prostate tissue is removed and the procedure does not work well for very large prostates.