Nick Pyne
BPH Patient
Jeffrey Clement
BPH Patient
Rezum is slowly becoming more popular as a treatment for benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) after its NICE approval last year, so what did these two men think of the treatment?
Around five years ago, 69-year old Nick Pyne from Wiltshire started to get up more frequently in the night. “I was waking up three to four times to go to the toilet and sometimes I found it very difficult to empty my bladder” he says.
Nick decided to have a PSA check with his GP, and while this came back as slightly elevated, it wasn’t enormously high. Nick was therefore relieved when further tests showed that his enlarged prostate was benign.
However, the standard procedure for the treatment of BPH wasn’t quite the outcome Nick had hoped for.
He says: “Although, there is a risk of erectile dysfunction and incontinence with all these procedures. The difference is the level of risk and I didn’t like the increased risks associated with the TURP procedure. It’s a risk that is frightening, really.”
He decided to continue monitoring his prostate and became a familiar face at the urology unit in Bath.
But, over time, Nick found it hard to plan long distance journeys, as he had to plot this around toilet stops.
Nick was initially referred to Basingstoke hospital for a UroLift procedure, but was found unsuitable due to the size of his prostate, and then was offered Rezum, a new, pioneering treatment.
“It was the best thing I’ve ever done.” he says. “Once I heard about the procedure I was quite relaxed about it and thought it was quite logical really. I turned up at the hospital in the morning, had the procedure in the day unit and the treatment only took 15 minutes. My wife drove me home two hours later. A week later, the catheter came out and I started to notice effects, but now, sometimes I don’t even need to get up in the night. I would definitely repeat the procedure again if I needed to.”
“First in and last out”
68-year old Jeffrey Clement from Wales had been suffering from disturbed sleep and a slow flow for over a decade, for which his GP prescribed two types of medication.
“I’d be the first one in the loo and the last one out,” says Jeffrey. “It was obvious that I had a problem, and was a bit embarrassing. Especially on a golf trip with my friends, it was taking the enjoyment from going away.
We also have four young grandchildren who live about a 3-hour drive away. Planning these visits necessitated numerous toilet breaks.
With the condition further exacerbated by alcohol, BPH began to take its toll on Jeffrey’s social life, and so the Welsh NHS offered him a TURP procedure.
His father having had the same procedure, Jeffrey decided he wasn’t prepared to take the risks. There was also a waiting list of around eight months.
After reading an article in the paper, Jeffrey discovered Rezum and had the treatment in summer 2019.
He suffered some discomfort, but is very happy with the results. He says: “I had a very slow flow about two weeks after the catheter was out and realised it was the ablated tissue that was yet to pass. After a quick visit to the hospital I was given equipment to self-catheterise and then once it had passed I found I was having much improved results.”
Jeffrey now fully enjoys his golf trips and finds himself a less frequent visitor to the toilet in the night. “In fact, I’ve just returned from a week’s golfing in Portugal and I had a brilliant time.”
“I’m now first in to the toilet and first out.”
“I now look forward to the trips to see my grandchildren as the journeys have become less arduous.
“Rezum has greatly improved the quality of my life and I am no longer reliant on taking medication. I would recommend this procedure to anyone suffering symptoms like I was experiencing.”
