Benign prostatic hypertrophy, or BPH, is the most common cause of bladder outlet obstruction in males over the age of 50. Autopsy studies have shown that 50-60 percent of men over the age of 50 have significant enlargement of the prostate gland, and this prevalence increases with age. The bladder outlet obstruction is characterized by urinary hesitancy, diminished force and caliber of the stream, and post-void dribbling, as well as urinary frequency and nocturia, that is, getting up at night to urinate. . . .
The only currently available treatment for BPH is prostatectomy. In the future, perhaps, pharmacological therapy to diminish the size of the obstructing gland
may be available. . . .
Prostatectomy should not produce organic erectile impotence; however, psychogenic impotence may follow any genitourinary surgery.
