Transurethral Resection of the Prostate (TURP) surgery waiting times update

Find out about the latest waiting times and length of hospital stay for Transurethral Resection of the Prostate (TURP) surgery

Transurethral Resection of the Prostate (TURP) is the surgical removal of part of an enlarged prostate gland which is restricting or blocking urine flow out of the body in men.

The medical condition that causes a man's prostate gland to enlarge is called benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH).

Most men aged over 50 ⁽¹⁾ will develop BPH at some time in their lives. About 40,000 ⁽²⁾ TURP operations are performed annually in the UK, but not every man with BPH requires one.

The prostate is normally the size of a walnut, but in BPH it can grow to the size of a small orange, pressing on the urethra.

If you are diagnosed with BPH, your doctor may suggest a TURP operation to remove the part of the prostate that is restricting or blocking urine flow.

Ninety per cent of men say their symptoms are improved three years after having a TURP, compared with only 40 per cent who did not have the operation ⁽³⁾.

When should you consider a TURP?

• You have tried alpha-blocker drug treatments and they have failed
• You are getting frequent bladder infections because of BPH
• You are getting bladder stones because your bladder does not empty fully
• You develop a condition called acute urinary retention, which means you cannot urinate at all and kidney damage may result

Waiting times update for TURP

Government targets have gone some way to reducing waiting times for TURP.

Dr Foster Health data shows that waiting times for TURP have been generally falling year-on-year in all Strategic Health Authorities (SHA) since 2005/6.

Fig 2: Waiting times for TURP

Across all ten Strategic Health Authorities, the average waiting time for a TURP operation in 2008/9 was about 64 days. You will wait the longest for a TURP procedure if you live in the South-East Coast area SHA. The shortest wait for a TURP is in the Yorkshire & Humber SHA.

Fig 3: Hospital length of stay for TURP

The following graph shows you the average length of stay in hospital after TURP according to age group.

In general, the older you are, the longer you will stay recovering in hospital after a TURP operation. The average length of stay across all age groups for a TURP procedure is 2.5 days.

Inpatient spell: a patient's stay in hospital consists of at least one finished consultant episode (period of care under one consultant/team)

Less invasive treatments for BPH

The following medical treatments may not be available at all NHS or private hospitals, so check with your hospital or healthcare insurance provider. The experimental drug treatments may become available at a later date, if researchers can demonstrate they are clinically safe and effective.

1) Transurethral microwave thermotherapy (TUMT)

A microwave device is inserted up through the urethra inside a rigid catheter and the BPH tissue of the prostate is heated up and destroyed. Some studies have shown that TUMT is an effective alternative treatment ⁽⁵⁾ to a TURP. TUMT does not require hospitalisation or general anaesthesia and the recovery time is short ⁽⁶⁾.

2) HoLEP Laser

Holmium laser enucleation of the prostate (HoLEP) allows the surgeon to cut away the obstructing parts of the prostate very accurately. The pieces are then broken down into a paste and removed from the bladder by suction. Some studies show that laser removal of obstructive prostate tissue is comparable long-term with conventional electric heat removal ⁽⁷⁾.

3) Phytotherapy (herbal treatments)

Herbal treatments, such as saw palmetto, are available and may alleviate the symptoms of BPH. However, scientific data from long-term studies to support safety and usefulness are limited and a recent report on saw palmetto suggested that it was no more effective than an inactive placebo ⁽⁸⁾.

New developments in BPH drug treatments

Tadalafil (Cialis) - a drug originally developed for erectile dysfunction - has been shown in clinical trials to significantly improve symptoms of BPH. Tadalafil improved patient scores on the Bladder Outlet Obstruction Index (BOOI) ^(9/10), but more studies will be needed to show that the drug consistently alleviates the symptoms of BPH.