[Complications of transurethral resection in the treatment of benign prostatic hypertrophy. Apropos of a series of 1180 adenomas--1976-1986].

This was a homogeneous series treated by the same surgeon between January 1977 and December 1986. During this period, out of 1,806 certico-prostatic obstacles, 1,180 were treated by resection of a prostatic adenoma with a mean age of 68,3 years and a range of 37 to 94 years. The surgical indications fell into four groups: dominant dysuria, dominant pollakiuria, complicated adenomas and patients with a single past episode of acute urinary retention. Resection was performed with a direct current (Iglésias) essentially with sterile demineralized water. General anesthesia was used in 2/3 of the cases and loco-regional anesthesia in 1/3 of the cases. A traditional resection technique was used, and postoperative bladder drainage used a Mercier 24 catheter. Continuous lavage was not performed. Duration of resection was 10 to 120 minutes with a mean of 39 minutes. The resected weight ranged between 8 and 130 grams with a mean of 24.2 grams. Duration of the indwelling catheter decreased from 5 days in 1976 to 24 or 48 hours in 1982. Duration of hospitalization decreased from 12 to 7 days, and down to 5 days today. Complications were uncommon: 2 deaths (0.17%) due to acute pancreatitis and mesenteric infarction; 1 perforated bladder; 4 septicemia with shock; 2 acute renal failures requiring dialysis; 5 pulmonary emboli; 3 hemiplegia; 1 acute nonfatal pancreatitis. Only 50 patients (4.2%) required transfusions. There was no permanent urinary incontinence but there were 12 (0.1%) cervical stenoses, and 37 (3.13%) urethral stenoses. Five-hundred-and-fifty-two patients were followed for one year and more: the results were overall very good.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)