Transurethral resection of the prostate ( TURP ) is the partial prostate removal surgery, reserved for men suffering from benign prostatic hypertrophy.
Performed by a surgeon who specializes in disorders and diseases of the urogenital system, TURP involves anesthesia and the use of a particular tubular instrument - the resectoscope - provided, at one end, with a light, a camera and a source of electric shocks.
Anesthesia allows the patient not to feel pain during the procedure and may be of a general or spinal type. If it is general, the operated person is completely asleep, while, if he is spinal, he remains conscious.
Once the patient has been anesthetized, the surgeon can begin the actual operation.
First, it inserts the resectoscope into the urethra and leads it to the prostate (NB: the urethra is the channel through which the urine comes out of the bladder, therefore, in a stretch, it also passes through the prostate).
Then, thanks to the light and the camera of the same resectoscope, it identifies the prostate area to be cut and turns on the source of electrical discharges. In fact, it is through the latter that the excess prostate tissue is severed.
For the removal, from the inside of the urethra, of the section of prostate sectioned, the surgeon performs washings with a catheter.
