It is a small organ situated just below the urinary bladder surrounding the urethra in the pelvis. The symptoms caused by BEP are mainly due to its anatomy (i.e. it surrounds the urethra)  

What is Benign prostatic hyperplasia (BEP) ?

It is a condition seen commonly in men after the age of about 50 years. In fact, by 60 years almost 50% men have evidence of BEP. Simply speaking BEP is an enlargement in the size of the prostate.  This is believed to be related to levels of the sex hormones.

What are the symptoms of BEP?

One of the earliest symptoms is increased frequency of micturition (urination) especially at night.

The stream of urine is poor & could even be intermittent. The same is not improved on straining. There could also be dribbling flow.

 Even after micturition, one has the feeling of incomplete micturition.

There may be episodes of urgency of micturition.

At a later stage one may also have episodes of retention of urine. 

Do you think that you have a prostate problem?  Take this prostate questionnaire.

What is the treatment of BEP?

Early stages my benefit from drugs like Prazosin.

Others do require surgical management.

1)TURP -- It stands for Trans Urethral Resection of the prostate.

   It is the most common modality used nowadays. In this a scope is passed into the urethra & the prostate is resected.

2) Prostatectomy (open surgery) -- less commonly done nowadays.

3) Microwave & Laser therapy -- these are the new modalities in their early stages.

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