Benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) is a noncancerous enlargement of the prostate gland that may restrict the flow of urine from the bladder.
BPH is a proliferative process of the cellular elements of the prostate, also referred as enlarged prostate. Cellular accumulation and gland enlargement may be due to epithelial and stromal proliferation, impaired pre-programmed cell death (apoptosis), or both. More recently, the voiding dysfunction that ensues from prostate gland enlargement and bladder outlet obstruction (BOO) has been generically termed lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS). These entities overlap; not all men with BPH have LUTS, and, likewise, not all men with LUTS have BPH. The same can be said for BOO.
An estimated 50% of men demonstrate histopathologic BPH by age 60 years. This number increases to 90% by age 85 years; thus, increasing gland size is considered a normal part of the aging process (2-5).
Approximately half of those diagnosed with histopathologic BPH demonstrate moderate-to-severe LUTS. Clinical manifestations of LUTS include urinary frequency, urgency, nocturia (getting up at night during sleep to urinate), decreased or intermittent force of stream, or a sensation of incomplete emptying. Complications occur less commonly but may include acute urinary retention, impaired bladder emptying, or the need for surgery.
The Butterfly Medical Prostatic Retraction Device is a retraction device, specially designed to be delivered into the prostatic urethra and indicated to dilate the prostatic urethra in BPH patients. This device was specially designed to reduce most of the known complications of used urethral stents.
The current clinical study is aimed to investigate the long term technical performance and clinical usage of Butterfly Medical Prostatic Retraction Device, through a 4 year follow up period, as a continuation of study BM-011-IL which assessed the above for a duration of 12 month post implantation.