The 94-year-old patient (residing in Phu Tho) was just successfully operated on by doctors at the National Hospital for Tropical Diseases with a large prostate hypertrophic tumor using laser endoscopy - a rare case due to very old age and severe hypertrophy.
According to the family, the old man had prostate enlargement for many years but delayed treatment due to old age and the disease progressing silently. About a year ago, the condition became increasingly severe with symptoms of difficulty urinating, frequent urination at night, pain in the lower abdomen, lower back pain spreading to both hips, seriously affecting daily life. The patient was once placed with a bladder tube at the lower level but did not improve, urinary tract infection gradually worsened, so he was transferred to the central level.
Doctor Tran Thuong Viet, Head of General Surgery - Urology and Andrology Department, said: the patient's prostate is estimated at about 133 grams, more than 4.5 times larger than normal, causing complete urinary retention and prolonged urinary tract infection. Faced with the critical condition, doctors decided to perform laparoscopic surgery to remove the tumor with laser under endotracheal anesthesia.
The surgery was safe, minimally invasive, and controlled bleeding and complications well. After 5 days of surgery, the patient's health stabilized and he was discharged from the hospital.
Dr. Tran Thuong Viet added that prostate enlargement is a common disease in elderly men. Previously, large tumors over 100 grams often had no indication for laparoscopic surgery, especially in very elderly people. However, with the development of modern medicine, laparoscopic and laser techniques have made surgery safer, even for patients over 90 years old if carefully assessed.
Doctors recommend that prostate enlargement should not be considered an "acceptable age-related disease". When signs of prolonged urinary disorders appear, patients need to go to specialized facilities for examination and timely treatment, avoiding complications that seriously affect health and quality of life.
