Two-micrometer thulium laser resection of the prostate-tangerine technique in benign prostatic hyperplasia patients with previously negative transrectal prostate biopsy

The 2-1μm thulium laser resection of the prostate-tangerine technique （TmLRP-TT） has been introduced as a minimally invasive treatment for benign prostatic hyperplasia （BPH）. This study was undertaken to assess the clinical efficacy and safety of TmLRP-TT for the treatment of BPH patients with previously negative transrectal prostate biopsy. A prospective analysis of 51 patients with previously negative transrectal prostate biopsy who underwent surgical treatment using TmLRP-TT was performed from December 2011 to December 2013. Preoperative status, surgical details, and perioperative complications were recorded. The follow-up outcome was evaluated with subjective and objective tests at I and 6 months. TmLRP-TT was successfully completed in all patients. Mean prostate volume, operative duration, and catheterization time were 93.3 ± 37.9 ml, 69.5 ± 39.5 min, and 6.5 ± 1.3 days, respectively. The mean International Prostate Symptom Score, quality of life score, maximum urinary flow rate, and post-void residual urine volume changed notably at 6-month follow-up （22.5 ± 6.9 vs 6.1 ± 3.2, 4.8 ± 1.3 vs 1.1 ± 0.9, 7.3 ± 4.5 vs 18.9 ± 7.1 ml s^-1, and 148.7 ± 168.7 vs 28.4 ± 17.9 ml）. Two （3.9%） patients required blood transfusion perioperatively, while 3 （5.9%） patients experienced transient hematuria postoperatively, and 2 （3.9%） patients received 3 days recatheterization due to clot retention. TmLRP-TT is a safe and effective minimally invasive technique for patients with previously negative transrectal prostate biopsy during the 6-month follow-up. This promising technology may be a feasible surgical method for previously negative transrectal prostate biopsy in the future.

Holmium laser versus conventional transurethral resection of the bladder tumor

Background Transurethral resection of the bladder tumor （TURBT） remains the gold standard for non-muscle-invasive bladder cancer （NMIBC）. Laser techniques have been widely used in urology. This analysis aimed to assess the safety and efficacy of holmium resection of the bladder tumor （HoLRBT）vs. TURBT. Methods A systemic search of MEDLINE, Embase, Web of Science, and The Cochrane Library as well as manual bibliography searches were performed to identify the relevant studies. The pooled estimates of operation time, obturator nerve reflex rate, bladder perforation rate, bladder irrigation rate, catheterization time, hospital stay, and one- and two-year recurrence free survivals were calculated. Results Five studies were enrolled into our meta-analysis. No significant difference was observed in the operation time between groups （weighted mean difference （WMD） 1.01, 95% confidential interval （95% CI） -3.52-5.54, P=0.66）. The significant difference in the obturator nerve reflex （OR 0.05, 95% CI 0.01-0.04, P=0.004）, bladder perforation （OR 0.14, 95% CI 0.03-0.61, P=-0.009）, bladder irrigation （OR 0.13, 95% CI 0.04-0.45, P=0.001）, catheterization time （WMD -0.96, 95% C1-1.11 to-0.82, P 〈0.00001）, and hospital stay （WMD-1.46, 95% C1-1.65 to-1.27, P 〈0.00001）showed advantages of HoLRBT over TURBT. The 2-year recurrence free survival rate favors the HoLRBT group （OR 1.46, 95% CI 1.02-2.11, P=-0.04）. Conclusions As a promising technique, HoLRBT is safe and efficient, and showed several advantages over TURBT. HoLRBT can be used as an alternative procedure for TURBT in terms of low-grade papillary urothelial carcinoma or low-grade early TNM-stage urothelial carcinoma.