[Current therapies of benign prostatic hypertrophy. Can the new medical treatments replace endoscopic resection?]

There has been a renewed interest in benign prostatic hypertrophy over the last two years due to the development of new therapeutic modalities. A recent consensus conference was organized by the World Health Organization (WHO) in Paris in July 1991, at which conventional treatment by transurethral resection was compared with new methods. An updated review is made of the basic concepts concerning BPH and the indications, technique and results of the various treatments: drug treatment by alpha-blockers, hormones, other instrumental treatments: cryotherapy, bladder neck incision, metal stent, hyperthermia. Transurethral resection will be studied in detail: technique, results. The respective indications for these various modalities are discussed.