Ten-Year Experience with Open Prostatectomy in Maiduguri

Background. Benign prostatic hyperplasia is the most common cause of lower urinary tract obstruction in the elderly male. Aim. To evaluate the effectiveness, safety, and outcome of open prostatectomy in a Nigerian teaching hospital. Material and Methods. Two hundred and fifty-three men with lower urinary tract obstruction clinically due to benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) underwent open prostatectomy over a ten-year period (January 2001–December 2010). Data on patients including age, clinical, laboratory, and histology were reviewed and analyzed to determine treatment outcome. Results. A total of 253 patients were studied. Their mean age was 69.11 ± 10.9 years (range 50–98). The most common symptoms at presentation included frequency 229 (90.5%) and poor stream 225 (88.9%). The most common complications at presentation were stones in 41 (16.2%) and bleeding in 37 (14.6%). The most common comorbid conditions were hypertension and diabetes found in 72 (28.5%) and 23 (9.1%), respectively. Transvesical prostatectomy was done for most of the patients, 126 (49.8%). Clot retention and wound infection were the commonest postoperative complications accounting for 19 (7.5%) each. Transient incontinence occurred in 17 (6.7%) patients. There was 1 (0.4%) mortality. Conclusion. Open prostatectomy still has a prime place in the operative treatment of BPH with acceptable postoperative morbidity and very low mortality in the developing world with no facilities for TURP.