EMBOLIZATION OF PROSTATIC ARTERIES FOR BENIGN PROSTATIC HYPERPLASIA. EFFICACY AND SAFETY

Objective. To evaluate the results and analyze the safety and effectiveness of prostatic artery embolization (PAE) for benign prostatic hyperplasia.
Material and methods. We analyzed the treatment of 110 patients with benign prostatic hyperplasia who underwent PAE, each patient having transurethral catheter or suprapubic catheter. In 95.3% of cases, the method of choice was radial access. For embolization, various catheters with a diameter of 2.4 – 4.0 Fr were used in all patients. The embolic material was microspheres with a diameter from 210.0 to 690.0 µm. To evaluate the effectiveness of the operation, we used the International Prostate Symptom Score (IPSS), transrectal prostate ultrasound (TRUS) scores, and prostate-specific antigen (PSA) scores. Clinical success was determined
by the following parameters: removal of the urinary catheter or suprapubic catheter and the ability of patients to urinate naturally.
Results. Analyzing the effectiveness of embolization before and after surgery, we can observe satisfactory functional differences in 1, 3, and 12 months’ time. Change in IPSS: before the procedure: 30.2±4.5 points, after 12 months: 6.1±4.3 points. Dynamics of TRUS of the prostate gland: before embolization 123.5±40.2 cm³, after 12 months: 45.0±10.6 cm³. PSA levels: before the procedure - 3.3±2.5 ng/ml, after 12 months - 3.0±1.4 ng/ml. Bilateral embolization was successfully performed in 100 patients (90.5%), unilateral - in 10 (9.5%). No serious complications were observed after embolization. Urinary and suprapubic catheters were successfully removed in 105 patients (95.5%).
Conclusion. Clinical success was 95.5% based on the results we set. Thus, we can say that embolization of prostatic arteries is a promising, safe and alternative method for the treatment of benign prostatic hyperplasia.

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