Tiny spring that stops men dashing to the loo

AHIGH-TECH spring that can be inserted in minutes could help reduce the symptoms of an enlarged prostate. The spring is implanted under local anaesthetic and once in place it expands to prop open the urethra, the tube urine passes through, which narrows when the prostate enlarges, causing problems going to the loo.

Around half of men over 50 have an enlarged prostate — also known as benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH).

The enlarged gland squeezes the urethra, leading to frequent trips to the loo, especially at night, and difficulties in fully emptying the bladder.

Currently, the condition is treated with drugs that block the effects of the hormone dihydrotestosterone, which is known to play a role in the growth of the prostate gland, but this can take six months to become fully effective.

Another option is surgery to trim the excess prostate tissue. However, this procedure, known as transurethral resection of the prostate ( TURP), requires a general anaesthetic, and has risks such as incontinence or impotence due to nerve damage.

Last week a new steam treatment that kills the excess tissues was approved for use by the NHS but this requires an overnight stay in hospital, whereas the spring is inserted as a five-minute outpatient procedure.

The new implant, by U. S. company Zenflow, is made from an alloy of nickel and titanium called nitinol. It is a shape memory metal, meaning it can ‘remember’ its original shape after being compressed. The spring is loaded into a catheter — a thin, flexible tube — with a camera on the end, and inserted into the urethra.

Images from the camera help doctors to guide it into position and, once in place, the implant expands like a spring, pushing back the prostate tissue.

Results from the first human trial by the University of Auckland in New Zealand, involving a small number of men, showed it provided lasting relief from symptoms. Now a new trial with 40 men which started last month at several hospitals in Mexico, will monitor men given the implant to assess its effects on BPH symptoms, including urine flow.

PROFESSOR Raj Persad, a consultant urologist with Bristol Urology Associates, said: ‘ The principles of this approach are good but how durable and free from complications the procedure is, will need to be evaluated. It is certainly safe.’

MEANWHILE, reducing the blood supply to the prostate can reduce symptoms of BPH by nearly 70 per cent, according to a new study in the journal European Radiology.

An enlarged prostate needs a good supply of blood — without it, it will shrink.

Researchers from the University of Copenhagen reviewed data from more than 1,200 men who had undergone prostate artery embolisation — where tiny particles are released into the artery that supplies the prostate to block the blood supply to the gland (other blood vessels in the area keep the shrunken gland alive).

They found symptoms improved by 67 per cent after the procedure, and that major complications were rare.