Comparison Between Thulium Laser VapoEnucleation and GreenLight Laser Photoselective Vaporization of the Prostate in Real-Life Setting: Propensity Score Analysis.

OBJECTIVE: To compare in daily practice efficacy and safety of standard 180-Watt GreenLight laser photoselective vaporization (PVP) and Thulium laser Vaporesection of the prostate (ThuVEP).

MATERIALS AND METHODS: All men were evaluated with prostate volume, prostate-specific antigen, International Prostate Symptom Score, and maximum urinary flow. Patient global impression of improvement was evaluated with patient global impression of improvement scale for 6 months. Antiplatelet/anticoagulant therapy, operation time, 24-hour hemoglobin drop , length of catheterization, discharge day, early complications, and reoperation after 30 days were gathered. Differences between interventions were estimated using propensity scores to adjust for different patients characteristics. The propensity scores were estimated by fitting a stepwise logistic regression model with intervention type as the dependent variable and all the covariates.

RESULTS: Five hundred five men underwent the surgical procedures (291 PVP and 214 ThuVEP). Mean age was 69.6 years. Mean prostate volume was 54 mL. Median operation time was 55 minutes. Median catheterization time was 2 days in both series. After matching, the postoperative stay was similar in both groups (2 days). Hemoglobin drop for 24 hours was statistically significantly lower in PVP (-0.5 vs -0.8 g/dL, P .002). Most of the complications were mild-to-moderate and comparable among groups. Δ Maximum urinary flow was similar 6-month after surgery before and after matching, whereas PVP group had a better improvement 12-month after surgery. 96.4% of all patients had an improvement of their symptoms, with no difference between groups, before and after matching.

CONCLUSION: Our study demonstrated that PVP and ThuVEP are similar in term of complications and outcomes, with high patients' satisfaction.