Interstitial laser coagulation (ILC) for benign prostatic hyperplasia: Our experience after 12 months

Interstitial laser induced coagulation (ILC) is a minimally invasive procedure for benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) which was first used by Muschter and Hoffstetter (3, 4). Prostate tissue is coagulated by means of diffused laser light, using a diode laser system with a temperature feedback (Indigo Medical 830c TM). In BPH, ILC aims at a reduction in volume, a decrease in outlet obstruction and improvement in lower urinary tract symptoms with low morbidity. We report our preliminary experience in treating 38 patients with BPH and BOO (bladder outlet obstruction) from May '98 to June '99 after a mean follow-up of 6 months. Inclusion criteria were: 1) age over 40 years, 2) maximum flow rate <12 ml/s., 3) AUA symptom score > 12, sterile urine culture, 5) PSA <4 ng/ml. All patients were catheterized for 10 days after treatment. The AUA score, maximum flow rate, Quality of Life (QL) index, post-voiding residual volume, prostate and urethra size (determined by ultrasound) were all significantly improved at 1, 3, 6 and 12 months (p