Minimally invasive surgery for prostate enlargement

  The patient was a 66-year-old male with acute urinary retention, prostatic hyperplasia, and bladder diverticulum combined with intra-diverticular stones. In the past, these conditions usually required open surgery to remove the prostate and remove the bladder diverticulum. The patient is old and frail, and also has diabetes, so we consulted the patient and developed a minimally invasive surgical plan to perform transurethral resection of the prostate (TURP) first and then laparoscopic bladder diverticulum removal a week later.  On November 23, the tenth day after the TURP, the patient had a smooth urination and a satisfactory recovery. Because the patient’s diverticulum was located on the lateral posterior side of the bladder, it was huge, with a diameter of 6 cm, and was located deep in, adjacent to the ureter and rectum, which increased the difficulty and risk of the operation. The operation started with placing a stent tube in the right ureter through the cystoscope to prevent intraoperative damage to the ureter, and the operation went relatively smoothly. On the second day after surgery, he was already moving around and eating normally.  Although the patient had two operations before and after, they were both minimally invasive, the former without incisions and the latter with only four small 0.5-1.0 cm diameter incisions in the abdomen, one of which was located in the umbilicus and was hidden after healing. Laparoscopy provides a clear view and for careful dissection and separation, and is sometimes more advantageous in cases that are difficult to handle with open surgery.