Who said nature is biased only against women and subjects them to life-long physiological problems? Here’s a problem that is exclusive to men – prostate enlargement.

Urologists warn men against ignoring early signals such as difficulties in urination and the increased urge to urinate.

“About 50 per cent of all men above the age of 50 years will face some kind of prostate problem. Good news is that about 90 per cent of all the cases can be treated using drugs, leaving the remaining 10 per cent for surgical intervention,” said Shiva Prasad, Clinical Director at Ramayya Pramila Urology Hospital.

He was addressing a press conference here on Wednesday to launch an exclusive prostate clinic to treat the diseases associated with the gland.

P. Vamsi Krishna, urologist and laparoscopic surgeon, said men tend to ignore this for months, leading to aggravation of the problem. “The problem can be identified with a simple blood test (PSA or prostate-specific antigen) and with physical examination.

"About 90 per cent of the cases are benign in nature, while 5-10 per cent cases turn out to be cancers,” he said.

Laser procedures

Advanced laser procedures have made it easy for patients to improve quality of life as laser reduces the scope of blood loss and other complications.

Naveenchandra Acharya, Andrologist and micro surgeon, felt that India lagged behind in detection of the problem quite early. “Early detection rate is very high in the US. In India, we see cases at a late stage,” he said.

>kurmanath.kanchi@thehindu.co.in

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