The Safety and Feasibility of Aquablation in Patients with Previous Surgery for Benign Prostatic Hyperplasia

Aquablation for lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS) secondary to benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) has been adopted to treat a wide range of prostate anatomies including glands up to 150 cc. Patients with recurrence of LUTS after previous BPH procedure often present with variant anatomy, and a paucity of literature exists on the optimal treatment modality for these patients. Herein, we evaluate the safety and feasibility of aquablation in patients with previous BPH surgical history. A prospectively managed single institution database of aquablation patients with BPH/LUTS was queried from August 2020 to December 2022 for patients who failed previous BPH procedures. Patients were divided into two groups: those with and without previous BPH procedure. Primary outcomes were intraoperative and 90-day complications. Secondary outcomes included operative time (OT), number of Aquabeam passes, estimated blood loss, hospital length of stay, and catheter duration. Outcomes were assessed using chi-squared, Wilcoxon rank sum tests, and logistic regression. A total of 200 patients with BPH/LUTS were treated with aquablation. We identified 26 patients with a history of previous BPH procedures. Patients who underwent previous BPH procedures had smaller prostate volumes (60 cc) compared with treatment-naïve (88 cc) patients, p = 0.016. There was no difference in perioperative and 90-day complications (29% for treatment-naïve vs 17% in the retreatment group, p = 0.32). Most secondary outcomes were the same including OT, but the retreatment group had fewer Aquabeam passes (2 [1-2] vs 2 [2-2] treatment-naïve, p = 0.037) and more additional procedures at follow-up (30% vs 8.3% treatment-naïve, p = 0.005). Patients with previous BPH interventions remain excellent candidates for aquablation, with similar perioperative and 90-day postoperative outcomes compared with intervention-naïve patients. Aquablation demonstrates efficient tissue ablation without the risk of increased injury or significant blood loss after prior failed BPH procedures.