[Holmium laser enucleation of the prostate (HoLEP) in patients with continuous oral anticoagulation: first reported cases in Japan].

Oral anticoagulation (OA) has been considered as a strict contraindication to transurethral resection of the prostate (TURP). In recent years, some studies have shown that holmium laser enucleation of the prostate (HoLEP) has less blood loss compared to TURP. Thus we have performed HoLEP in patients with benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) under continuous OA from September 2009, and herein we report our first nine cases. Patients received HoLEP by a single surgeon at our institution. HoLEP was performed successfully in all patients. The mean times to complete enucleation and morcellation were 48.2 and 5.1 minutes, respectively. The mean tissue weight of enucleation was 37 grams. The mean hemoglobin and sodium loss after HoLEP were 1.7 g/dl and 1.3 mEq/L, respectively, and the catheterization time was 1.6 days. Blood transfusion, clot retention or transurethral resection syndrome were not observed in any cases. HoLEP has excellent hemostatic properties, and is a safe and effective procedure for patients with symptomatic BPH under the condition of continuous OA.