Ethanol injection for the treatment of benign prostatic hyperplasia.

Recent studies examining the benefit of prostatic ethanol injection for symptomatic benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) have demonstrated significant postsurgical improvements (after 1 to 3 months) in BPH parameters such as symptom score, flow rate, and postvoid residual. Transperineal and transurethral injection routes have been reported to be safe and well-tolerated in men. Animal and human studies demonstrate that this treatment has a direct necrotic effect on prostatic tissue with negligible systemic absorption. Although this technique demonstrates promise as a minimally invasive treatment for BPH, further study of a large series of men is clearly required to define its benefit.