[Operative treatment of prostatic adenoma (author's transl)]

The indications for operative treatment of prostatic adenomas are outlined. The three operative techniques (suprapubic adenomectomy, resection and cryosurgery) should not be considered rival procedures, but complementary methods of therapy. The postoperative mortality dropped from 5.64% in the years 1957-1967 to 1.01% during the last decade mainly due to the implementation of electroresection and cryosurgery in high-risk patients. The advisability of early surgery is pointed out.