New Procedure Now Available at Banner North Colorado Medical Center

A new minimally invasive procedure for men who suffer from an enlarged prostate or benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) is now available at Banner North Colorado Medical Center in Greeley. Aquablation therapy uses robot technology and a heat-free water jet to remove problematic prostate tissue. This one-of-a-kind procedure takes less than an hour and produces a high success rate. This technique has been used at Banner Health hospitals in Arizona since 2020 and was recently introduced in Northern Colorado.

A majority of men over 50 will struggle with BPH in their lifetime. One in two men ages 51-60 has BPH. Ninety-nine percent of men say BPH impacts their quality of life, most commonly by interfering with the ability to sleep through the night, limiting activities, causing embarrassment and frustration, and affecting relationships and professional life. As a solution, Aquablation is done with no incisions and helps avoid some of the possible complications common with other procedures, such as incontinence, ejaculatory dysfunction, and erectile dysfunction.

For most, including Greeley resident Chris M., age 65, the results from Aquablation provide immediate and long-term relief. Chris was diagnosed with BPH in 2012, and in 2022, he was the first patient at Banner North Colorado to undergo this procedure with Curtis Crylen, MD.

“I was diagnosed with BPH at age 55 when I had a PSA (prostate-specific antigen) test,” Chris said. “It soon got to the point where I would need a catheter every morning or would have to get surgery.”

On December 1, 2022, Chris underwent Aquablation therapy and was discharged with no pain and no issues. Before Aquablation, Chris had been taking medication and using a self-administered catheter because of BPH. Despite the daily intervention, Chris was unable to empty his bladder and would frequently wake at night to use the restroom. After seeing no improvement from medication, he considered Aquablation in a desperate effort to find normalcy.

Nearly eight weeks post-op, Chris is very pleased with the outcome. He feels a new sense of relief and has had no complications. He is confident he will remain comfortable but would consider the procedure again if ever needed because of his positive experience and improvement.

“Dr. Crylen made a totally different person out of me, it was well worth the time and effort,” Chris said.

Aquablation therapy is also performed by David Ritsema, MD.

For more information about Aquablation at Banner North Colorado or for support with other urological conditions, call (970) 810-1000 or visit bannerhealth.com

Banner North Colorado Medical Center is a fully accredited, private, nonprofit facility licensed in Greeley, Colorado owned by Banner Health, a nonprofit health care system with 30 hospitals in six states. It serves as a regional medical center offering a comprehensive scope of community-based and specialty health care services for an area including southern Wyoming, western Nebraska, western Kansas and northeastern Colorado. It offers Emergency care, cancer care, heart care, orthopedics, inpatient and outpatient surgery, obstetrics, pediatrics, rehabilitation, intensive care, lab and medical imaging and medical air transport. For more information, visit
bannerhealth.com/ncmc.