By LINDA COMINS

For The Times Leader

WHEELING — Wheeling Hospital has become the first hospital in the region and only the second in West Virginia to use a new minimally invasive procedure to relieve symptoms of an enlarged prostate.

Urologist Dr. Satbir Singh is treating patients with the UroLift System, the first permanent implant to treat symptoms due to urinary outflow obstruction in men age 50 or older. Urologist Dr. Walter Taubenslag will be performing the procedure soon.

Cleared by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in 2013, the UroLift System is designed to relieve symptoms of benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH), while preserving sexual function.

“We are committed to providing patients with the highest quality, most effective options to address their urology needs involving kidneys, bladder and prostate. UroLift is our latest advancement in patient care,” said Dr. Gregory Merrick, director of Wheeling Hospital’s Schiffler Cancer Center Urologic Research Institute.

Singh said the new procedure can be offered to a younger population with fewer side effects. An older man with a very large prostate is not as good a candidate for the procedure, he said.

The UroLift surgery takes only 10-15 minutes to perform in the operating room, Singh said. The patient can go home the same day and can return to work a day or two later.

The device “looks like a suture,” with a long metal bar attached to it, Singh said. The permanent implants act like window curtain tie-backs to hold the lobes of an enlarged prostate open.

Performed through the urethra, the procedure pushes aside the obstructive prostate lobes and positions small, tailored permanent UroLift implants to hold the prostate lobes in the retracted position. This opens the urethra while leaving the prostate intact.

Singh said, “The UroLift System has an excellent safety profile and provides men suffering from an enlarged prostate a beneficial first-line treatment alternative to drug therapy or more invasive surgery. Importantly, the UroLift System provides fast and meaningful relief from BPH symptoms, improving overall quality of life for our patients.”

Data from clinical trials showed that patients receiving UroLift implants reported rapid symptomatic improvement, improved urinary flow rates and sustained sexual function.

Merrick said that 25 percent of men develop BPH symptoms by age 55. More than 500 million aging men worldwide have an enlarged prostate.