- To prevent retrograde ejaculation (the discharge of semen into the bladder rather than the urethra), which occurs in 80% of cases following surgery, compared with 2% following embolisation.
- To maintain a satisfactory sex life after the procedure.
- Avoid the side effects of medication prescribed for prostate adenoma, such as erectile dysfunction or orthostatic hypotension.
- Avoid the need for a urinary catheter, unlike with surgery.
- A quicker recovery as the procedure is considered ‘minimally invasive’.
- Postpone the need for surgery.
- The treatment is not necessarily definitive; the recurrence rate is as high as 30% at 5 years, although a repeat procedure may be considered.
- Post-embolisation syndrome, although temporary, occurs within 2–3 days after embolisation; it is completely reversible and is characterised by fever, as well as pelvic and urinary pain.
- You will be admitted to the day hospital and then return home on the day of the procedure or the following day.
- Symptoms begin to ease after 15 days.