Prostate: What You Need To Know

Essential things to know about the prostate 

The human prostate is a sex accessory tissue beneath the bladder at the bladder outlet, where urine flows into the urethra. Its size varies with age. The prostatic secretions form a major part of the ejaculate containing many biologically active substances, but to date there is limited knowledge of the actual physiological significance of these secretions.

Benign prostatic hyperplasia, or BPH, refers to the age-related growth of the prostate gland in all males (usually after 50), and is dependent on the male hormone testosterone to drive growth. Hyperplasia means the number of cells in the prostate is increased in response to testosterone. Growth begins at puberty, and ends when the main source of testosterone (the testes) is removed through medication, surgery (castration) or decline in testosterone levels with ageing.

Treatment of BPH is mainly either by oral medication or surgery.

The main operation for BPH is Transurethral Resection of the Prostate (TURP). This is endoscopic surgery (no cutting on the skin) to resect the central part of the prostate gland that is causing obstruction. 

1. The patient is admitted on the day of surgery itself. Most operations last between 30-60 minutes, and patients can go back to a full diet that same evening. Discharge from hospital is expected by the 2nd to 3rd postoperative day. Patients are advised not to strain themselves for up to a month, but light exercise like walking is encouraged.
2. The operation physically reduces the size of the prostate, but does not prevent re-growth of the gland, which can sometimes cause problems many years later. 
3. There are medications that slow down prostate growth, but these are not routinely prescribed after surgery.
4. There is currently no evidence that BPH leads to prostate cancer.