Prostatic artery embolization for symptomatic benign prostatic hyperplasia: an Irish experience.

BACKGROUND

Prostatic artery embolization (PAE) is an emerging minimally invasive treatment option for symptomatic benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) which is not yet widely available nor reported on in the Irish setting.

AIMS: This study aimed to summarise our single-centre experience implementing PAE in an Irish setting.

METHODS

Medical records of patients who underwent bilateral PAE at our institution between January 2020 and July 2024 were retrospectively reviewed and those with incomplete primary outcome data or prostate cancer were excluded.

RESULTS

Twenty-one participants were included. The mean age was 72.8 ± 8.9 years and mean prostatic volume was 188 ± 106 cc. In those who were catheter dependent pre-operatively (n = 13), eleven (84.6%) were voiding independently at a median longest follow up of 292 [20-1112] days (P < 0.0001). In those who could void independently at baseline (n = 8), the mean IPSS decreased from 22.1 ± 5.8 at baseline to 8.3 ± 7 at a median follow-up of 68 [43-184] days post procedure (P < 0.001). There was one severe (Society for Interventional Radiology grade > 2) complication from which the participant made a full recovery to baseline.

CONCLUSIONS

Our experience demonstrates PAE as a feasible and promising treatment option for BPH-related symptoms and catheter-dependence in the Irish setting. Notably, the strength of conclusions is limited by the small, single-centre, retrospective nature of this study and future research is required to establish safety and efficacy.