A 40-Year Litigation Review of Transurethral Surgeries for Benign Prostatic Hyperplasia

To describe litigation patterns of transurethral surgery in the treatment of benign prostatic hyperplasia including verdicts, types of lawsuits, plaintiff claims, and timing of the claims.

Data was gathered by searching for litigation cases between January 1, 1980 and December 1, 2021 in the Westlaw legal database using keywords for transurethral surgeries for benign prostatic hyperplasia. Extracted data included case type, general description of the plaintiffs and defendants, plaintiff claims, and whether the claim involved preoperative, perioperative, or postoperative management, verdict, and indemnity awards.

The Westlaw search yielded 44 unique cases after removing duplicate and irrelevant cases. The most common surgery resulting in a lawsuit was transurethral resection of the prostate (70%) and urologists were the most frequently named defendant (80%). The most common plaintiff claims were sexual dysfunction (36%), irritative lower urinary tract symptoms (32%), and lack of consent (27%). Among malpractice cases, the verdict was in favor of the defendant in most cases (71%) and among Eighth Amendment violation cases, the verdict was in favor of the defendant in every case. The average indemnity payment was $565,845 and the highest indemnity payment was $1,020,000.

Complications of transurethral surgeries and lack of consent are common reasons for patient's filing a lawsuit. Healthcare providers should ensure patient understanding of surgical risks and thoroughly document the conversation. Providers should be aware of the causes for litigation among transurethral surgeries for benign prostatic hyperplasia and of the possibility of Eighth Amendment violation lawsuits when treating prison inmates.