There are options for treating prostate enlargement in men, Elizabeth Tracey reports

Play

The majority of men will experience an enlarged prostate gland as they age, a condition known as benign prostatic hyperplasia or BPH. Besides surgical treatment another option is cutting off some of the blood supply to the gland, known as prostate artery embolization. Brian Holly, an interventional radiologist at Johns Hopkins, explains.

Holly: A lot of guys at this point are either diagnosed with BPH through their primary care physician or through their urologist. A lot of them end up on medications they either don't like the side effects of the medications or they're not really helping then they start discussing surgical options. Some guys shy away from those because of potential complications I find that most patients end up in my office doing their homework online reading about this procedure and it's a procedure where we try to decrease the blood supply to the prostate gland in guys who have an enlarged prostate gland. Hopefully it results in the gland shrinking and allowing them to have less symptoms associated with urination. :34

Holly says the majority of men will see improvement with this procedure. At Johns Hopkins, I’m Elizabeth Tracey.