What Is Enlarged Prostate and How Can It Be Fixed?

Continuing our men’s health theme for this month of “No-Shave November,” we again sat down with Dr. Bradford Stevenson, Ogden Clinic Urologist, to ask him about enlarged prostate – a condition that affects 50 percent of men over the age of 50.

Q: What is a prostate?

A: A prostate is a male organ – a gland that sits at the base of your bladder – that produces fluid used in reproduction. Once you’re out of your traditional reproductive years, you don’t really need your prostate anymore; but unfortunately, it stays right where it is. More than that, for many men, it actually grows larger as they age, causing all sorts of potential problems.

Q: What kinds of problems can an enlarged prostate cause?

A: An enlarged prostate – or benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) – can manifest itself in a number of ways:

• Increased frequency of urination, particularly at night
• Difficulty urinating
• Weak or slow urine stream
• Inability to completely empty the bladder
• Urinary tract infections
• Blood in the urine

Q: At what point should men seek treatment?

A: It’s important to remember that BPH is not dangerous. At the end of the day, it’s a quality of life issue. If you’re at a point where your symptoms are bothering you, come in and see me – we have a lot of ways we can help.

Q: What are the treatment options for BPH?

A: The goal of treatment for an enlarged prostate is to shrink the prostate, open up that urinary channel, and ultimately decrease or eliminate your symptoms. That can be accomplished via medication or a number of different procedures.

Typically we start with medication, the most common one being Flomax®. For many men, that’s enough. However, your prostate grows throughout your life. There may come a point that it outgrows your medication. If that happens, your urologist will help you choose the best procedure for your unique situation.

Bradford Stevenson, MD