[Operative therapy of benign prostatic hyperplasia: enucleation procedures (HoLEP and ThuVEP)].

Open simple prostatectomy is not only the oldest but also the most effective treatment option for benign prostatic obstruction. Laser enucleation has been established as a transurethral minimally invasive alternative especially but not exclusively for large volume prostates. To date two laser systems, holmium:YAG laser enucleation of the prostate (HoLEP) and thulium:YAG laser vapoenucleation of the prostate (ThuVEP) have been established. Both treatment modalities have similarities in terms of wavelength and surgical technique but differ in the type of energy released (pulsed versus continuous wave). The HoLEP and ThuVEP procedures lead to a significant improvement in symptoms, quality of life, urinary flow and post-void residual urine. Surgery-related morbidity, especially bleeding complications is significantly reduced with laser enucleation. For HoLEP the durability of the results was shown for a follow-up interval of up to 10 years while for ThuVEP the follow-up interval reached 18 months due to the shorter time since clinical implementation of this method.