Additional study published confirming effectiveness of transurethral intraprostatic anaesthesia (TUIA) using our Schelin Catheter® during benign prostatic enlargement treatments
A study conducted by a French research team has been published in the scientific journal The French Journal of Urology.1 The study aimed to evaluate the safety and feasibility of transurethral intraprostatic anaesthesia (TUIA) using the Schelin Catheter® (registered trademark of ProstaLund AB) in patients with benign prostatic obstruction (BPO) during water vapour thermal therapy (RezumTM, registered trademark of Boston Scientific). The study evaluated 14 patient treatments.
Although designed for in-office use, water vapor thermal therapy remains a painful procedure, and oral ± intravenous sedation is often required. The Schelin Catheter® is an innovative bladder catheter that delivers local anaesthesia to the prostate in a sterile transurethral way.
The study showed that using a pure local anaesthetic protocol with the Schelin Catheter® proved to be effective in managing perioperative pain and patient discomfort related to the water vapour therapy procedure, with very few cases requiring conscious intravenous sedation.
The authors conclude that given that water vapour therapy is mainly offered under general anaesthesia in European countries, the use of the Schelin Catheter® could bring many advantages: no need for an anaesthesia team, shorter operating room and hospital stay, faster patient recovery, lighter load on surgical waiting lists and could therefore be cost-effective.