[Greenlight(®) photoselective vaporisation for benign prostatic hyperplasia: a systematic review]

Transurethral resection of the prostate (TURP) is the most common surgical procedure in urology and remains the gold standard treatment of complicated benign prostatic hyperplasia or refractory to medical treatment. Routinely used since the 2000s, prostate photoselective vaporization (PVP) with Greenlight(®) laser has been developed to improve the safety of hemostasis in elderly patients and/or with high surgical risk. The purpose of this study was to review the results of PVP from the international literature.

[corrected] A systematic review of the literature on the research base Pubmed (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/) was performed using the keywords benign prostatic hyperplasia; greenlight; photovaporisation; Laser; IPSS score; endoscopicsurgery; morbidity; complication. Prospective and retrospective studies in English and French were selected from its first use in 1998. Finally, we looked for studies that reported at least one of the following items: surgical technique; operative data; complications; anatomical and functional results and/or direct comparison between PVP and TURP.

Regardless the PVP technique used to treat adenoma and identify the limits of the prostatic capsule, some parameters are well defined (sweepspeed, angle and distance of the fiber with the tissue) but others are still debated (number of joules per volume, when do we have to stop the PVP) and are reported in a heterogeneous manner due to the different generators. Versus TURP, PVP would offer the same functional results in the medium term but with a lower risk of per- and postoperative bleeding. The study of the risk of erectile dysfunction (ED) after PVP is made difficult due to the heterogeneity of DE assessment and study populations. However, PVP does not seem associated with an increased risk of ED versus TURP. The lack of histological material should lead to preoperative individual screening of prostate. The economy generated by PVP regarding the decrease in average length of stay has been clearly identified in Australia, Canada, Switzerland and USA. Studies will be published soon on French economic model.

PVP with Greenlight(®) laser appears to be a safe and effective technique. With the new generator XPS, the PVP technique reaches maturity. Its development will certainly lead to a long-term evaluation with high levels of evidence based.