Water Vapour Therapy for the Prostate (Rezum)

Water vapour therapy, sold as Rezum, treats benign prostate enlargement by injecting small bursts of steam into the gland through the urethra. The heat kills the targeted cells, and the body absorbs the dead tissue over the following weeks, shrinking the part that blocks urine flow.

It improves symptoms by around half and rarely affects erections or ejaculation. The improvement is smaller and slower than with TURP or HoLEP, you need a catheter for some days afterwards, and results beyond 5 years are still being gathered.

What Water Vapour Therapy for the Prostate (Rezum) involves

After a flow test, ultrasound measurement of the prostate and usually a flexible cystoscopy to look at its shape, you are given sedation or a local nerve block. A handheld device with a telescope is passed along the urethra. Under direct vision, a fine needle extends about 1 cm into the prostate and releases steam at 103 degrees for 9 seconds. The vapour spreads between cells and condenses, giving up its heat within the zone being treated. The injection is repeated about every centimetre along each side lobe, and in the middle lobe if there is one, typically 4 to 10 injections in all. A catheter is then placed because the gland swells before it shrinks.

Who is a good candidate for Water Vapour Therapy for the Prostate (Rezum)?

A middle path for men who want more than tablets but wish to avoid a resection.

• Moderate to severe urinary symptoms with a prostate of about 30 to 80 ml
• Men who want to keep normal ejaculation
• An obstructing median lobe, which some other minimally invasive options cannot treat
• Those who want to stop prostate medication or cannot tolerate it
• Men for whom a general anaesthetic is undesirable

It is usually not the right choice if:

• Prostates much larger than 80 ml, where enucleation gives far better relief
• Men in complete retention with a poorly contracting bladder, without careful assessment
• Active urinary infection
• Anyone needing fast relief, since the benefit takes weeks
• Men with a urinary sphincter implant or penile prosthesis, depending on the device

Technique options

• Rezum under sedation or local block: The usual setting: a short day-case procedure.
• Treatment of the median lobe: Additional injections into a central lobe pushing into the bladder.
• Alternatives: UroLift, iTind, aquablation: Other minimally invasive options with different size limits and effects on ejaculation.
• TURP, HoLEP or GreenLight: More tissue removal and stronger results when obstruction is severe.

What happens during your treatment

The treatment itself takes 10 to 15 minutes under sedation or local anaesthetic. You feel pressure and brief heat with each injection. You go home the same day with a catheter, which stays for 3 to 7 days, longer for bigger glands.

Preparing for your trip

It is a single session. Because the catheter must be removed and a trial of voiding done, plan to stay 7 to 10 days, or arrange catheter removal with a urologist at home before you travel. Symptoms may be worse before they are better, so do not plan demanding travel straight afterwards.

• Tell the doctor about medication, allergies, pregnancy or breastfeeding, and any history of cold sores, keloid scars or autoimmune disease
• Avoid alcohol, aspirin and anti-inflammatory painkillers for a few days beforehand if your own doctor agrees, to reduce bruising
• Arrive without make-up on the treatment area and avoid sunbeds and strong sun for two weeks before

Recovery and results

For 2 to 4 weeks expect burning, urgency, frequency and some blood in the urine or semen as the treated tissue is cleared. Antibiotics and anti-inflammatory tablets are often given. Most men notice improvement from week 2 to 4, with the full effect at about 3 months. Avoid strenuous exercise and sex for 2 to 4 weeks. Prostate tablets are usually continued for the first month.

• Back to everyday activity: A few days; urinary irritation for 2 to 4 weeks
• When results show: Gradual from 2 to 4 weeks, full at 3 months
• How long they last: At least 5 years in most men

Safety, risks and revision policy

Side effects are mostly short-lived irritation. Lasting sexual side effects are uncommon.

• Painful or frequent urination for several weeks
• Blood in the urine or semen
• Urinary infection
• Urinary retention after catheter removal, needing the catheter again for a time
• Reduced semen volume in a small minority
• Insufficient improvement, with re-treatment or surgery in about 4 to 5 percent at 5 years
• Urethral stricture, rarely

Every written proposal arranged through Clinic-Y states what the clinic covers if a correction is needed. Ask for it before you book, not after.

Cost of Water Vapour Therapy for the Prostate (Rezum) in Türkiye

Clinic-Y does not publish a single price for Water Vapour Therapy for the Prostate (Rezum), because the honest figure depends on your case. What moves it:

• The single-use delivery device
• Sedation versus local anaesthetic
• Pre-procedure cystoscopy and flow testing
• Catheter care and follow-up visit

Send your photographs or reports and you receive written, all-inclusive proposals from suitable teams, side by side. Reviewing your case is free.

Frequently Asked Questions