A prospective, single-center, randomized clinical trial to evaluate the efficacy of three types of laser vaporization surgeries using a 180-W GreenLight XPS laser, a 300-W diode laser, and a 200-W thulium laser for the treatment of benign prostatic hyperplasia

Objectives

This study aimed to compare the safety and efficacy of three different laser prostate vaporization surgeries, which were photoselective vaporization of the prostate (PVP), diode laser vaporization (DVP), and thulium laser vaporization (ThuVAP), for the treatment of benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) in a randomized clinical trial.

Methods

A total of 71 consecutive patients with BPH were included; 23 patients were treated with PVP, 23 with DVP, and 25 with ThuVAP. Patients were evaluated with disease-related symptomatic questionnaires, Quality of Life (QOL) Index, and maximum urinary flow rate (Q_max) for 12 months. Patients were monitored to record operation/vaporization time, 24-hour hemoglobin/sodium drop, length of catheterization/hospitalization, and perioperative/postoperative complications.

Results

In all three groups, patients showed significant and comparable improvements in symptom scores, QOL Index, and Q_max during the 12-month follow-up period. The mean operation/vaporization time was equivalent across all three groups at 69/23 (PVP), 81/34 (DVP), and 76/32 minutes (ThuVAP), while the applied laser energy was lower for PVP at 157 kJ compared to the other two techniques (DVP at 358 kJ, ThuVAP at 240 kJ). The mean vaporization rates per unit energy were significantly different between the three groups (PVP 0.16, DVP 0.09, and ThuVAP 0.09 mL/kJ). There were no significant differences in the main safety profiles between the three groups.

Conclusions

Our study demonstrated that these three types of laser surgeries are similar in terms of complications and outcomes, with excellent hemostasis and high patient satisfaction. It was suggested that sufficient tissue vaporization could be achieved using less energy through PVP surgery.