Procedure	Description	Short-term complications	Occurrence of short-term complications	Risk of retreatment or resurgery	Risk of sexual dysfunction
TURP	Recommended surgical technique because of the extensive data validating its effectiveness	Urinary retention or recatheterization	4 percent	0 to 8 percent6 (most trials show 2 to 5 percent)	Erectile dysfunction: 0 to 70 percent (most trials show 10 to 20 percent) 4–10 Retrograde ejaculation: 57 percent 4,5
		TURP syndrome*	1 percent
		UTI4,5	1 to 13 percent 4,5
		Transfusion4,5	1 to 6 percent 4,5
Transurethral incision of the prostate	Incision from the urethra to the external capsule in each lobe of the prostate; may be performed under regional anesthesia; only appropriate for prostate size less than 30 mL	Urinary retention or recatheterization	Reduced incidence of all short-term complications; precise incidence not reported7	Comparable with TURP 7,11	Erectile dysfunction: less than TURP; precise incidence not reported 7 Retrograde ejaculation: comparable with TURP11
		TURP syndrome*
		UTI (comparable with TURP, trend favors transurethral needle ablation)
		Transfusion
Transurethral needle Ablation	Placement of radio frequency needles in the prostate to ablate tissue	Urinary retention or recatheterization	Comparable with TURP, trend favors TURP	10 percent	Erectile dysfunction: 0.3 percent; odds ratio compared with TURP: 0.29 (95% CI, 0.13 to 0.63)10 Retrograde ejaculation: 0.2 percent; odds ratio compared with TURP: 0.03 (95% CI, 0.01 to 0.06)10
		TURP syndrome*	Not reported
		UTI	Comparable with TURP, trend favors transurethral needle ablation
		Transfusion	0 percent8
Transurethral Microwave thermotherapy	Minimally invasive outpatient treatment; microwave antenna irradiates the prostate to decrease prostate size	Urinary retention or recatheterization	23 percent	Odds ratio compared with TURP: 10.05 (P < .001)	Erectile dysfunction: 5 percent5 Retrograde ejaculation: 22.2 percent5
		TURP syndrome*	0 percent5
		UTI	18 percent5
		Transfusion	0 percent5
Laser prostatectomy	Inpatient procedure using a variety of laser techniques to ablate the prostate tissue	Urinary retention or recatheterization	Similar to TURP	7 to 20 percent8	Erectile dysfunction and retrograde ejaculation: not significantly different than with TURP8
		TURP syndrome*	Not reported
		UTI	Two times more likely than with TURP; P < .05
		Transfusion	0 percent8
Transurethral Electrovaporization of the prostate	Endoscopic electrosurgical equipment is used to destroy prostatic tissue with limited coagulation	Urinary retention or recatheterization	Pooled difference estimate compared with TURP: 2.89; P = .001	Pooled difference estimate compared with TURP: 2.57; P = .0019 Pooled difference estimate favors TURP if greater than 1, favors transurethral electrovaporization if less than 1	Erectile dysfunction and retrograde ejaculation: not significantly different than with TURP8,9
		TURP syndrome*	Comparable with TURP
		UTI	Comparable with TURP
		Transfusion	Pooled difference estimate compared with TURP: 0.16, P < .0019