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Foible No. 7. Surgical procedures on the prostate to relieve symptomatic BPH can
dramatically alter serum PSA levels, because normally, the transition zone is the
main source of serum PSA. Best known of such procedures is TURP, trans-urethral
resection of the prostate. The endoscopic depictions (above, Left) show the defect
that TURP leaves in the prostate. The chart (above, Right) shows the marked
decrease in serum PSA levels associated with such a defect. In a large group of men
undergoing TURP for BPH, serum PSA levels decreased from 3.0 ng/ml to 0.7 ng/ml as
a result of the operation, and the levels stay low indefinitely. New minimally-invasive
treatments for BPH may also affect serum PSA levels, though the effect of such procedures
(TUMT, TUNA, VLAP, etc) is not as well-documented.
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