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Serious long-term complications are less likely with prostate laser surgery than with traditional surgery. Risks of laser surgery can include:

• Temporary difficulty urinating. You may have trouble urinating for a few days after the procedure. Until you can urinate on your own, you will need to have a tube (catheter) inserted into your penis to carry urine out of your bladder.
• Urinary tract infection. Urinary tract infections are a possible complication after any prostate procedure. An infection is increasingly likely to occur the longer you have a catheter in place, and may require antibiotics or other treatment.
• Narrowing (stricture) of the urethra. Just as you can form scars on the outside of your body, you can form scars on the inside after prostate surgery. These scars can block urine flow, requiring additional treatment.
• Dry orgasm (retrograde ejaculation). Any prostate surgery can cause retrograde ejaculation, which means semen released during sexual climax (ejaculation) enters your bladder rather than exiting the penis. Retrograde ejaculation isn't harmful, and generally doesn't affect sexual pleasure. But it can interfere with your ability to father a child. This is a common long-term side effect of procedures to treat an enlarged prostate.
• Erectile dysfunction. There is a small risk that ablative procedures could cause erectile dysfunction — the inability to maintain an erection firm enough to have sex. This is generally less of a risk with laser surgery compared with traditional surgery.
• Need for retreatment. Some men require follow-up treatment after laser ablative surgery because not all of the tissue is removed or it may grow back over time. This is not the case with enucleation. Men who have HoLEP generally don't require re-treatment, because the entire part of the prostate that can block urine flow is removed.

Follow your doctor's instructions on what to do before your treatment. Here are some issues to discuss with your doctor:

• Your medications. Tell your doctor about any prescription, over-the-counter or supplements you take. This is especially important if you take blood-thinning medications, such as warfarin (Coumadin) or clopidogrel (Plavix), and nonprescription pain relievers such as aspirin, ibuprofen (Advil, Motrin IB, others) or naproxen sodium (Aleve, others). Your surgeon may ask you to stop taking medications that increase your risk of bleeding several days prior to the surgery.
• Fasting before your procedure. Your doctor will likely tell you not to eat or drink anything after midnight the night before the procedure. On the morning of your procedure, take only the medications your doctor tells you to with a small sip of water.
• Arrangements after the procedure. Ask your doctor how long to expect to be in the hospital. You won't be able to drive yourself home after the procedure that day or generally if you have a catheter in the bladder.
• Activity restrictions. You may not be able to work or do strenuous activity for about two weeks after surgery, but depending on the type of laser procedure you have, you may need more or less recovery time. Ask your doctor how much time you may need.

Laser surgery for an enlarged prostate can take from 30 minutes to a couple of hours depending on the size and anatomy of the prostate being treated.

Before the surgery begins, you will be given either general anesthesia, which means you'll be unconscious during the procedure, or spinal anesthesia, which means you'll remain conscious during the procedure.

Laser surgery techniques for enlarged prostate are all done by inserting viewing scopes and instruments through the tip of the penis into the urethra. This makes surgery possible without making any cuts (incisions) on the outside of your body.

Exactly what you can expect during and after the procedure can vary somewhat depending on the particular type of laser and technique used.

During the procedure

A narrow fiber-optic scope is inserted through the tip of your penis into the urethra. By accessing the prostate through your penis, your doctor won't need to make any cuts (incisions) on the outside of your body. The doctor will use the laser to destroy, vaporize or cut out the prostate tissue blocking urine flow. Depending on the procedure, your doctor may also use instruments to remove cut pieces of prostate tissue from the bladder.

After the procedure

After the procedure, you may have a urinary catheter in place because urine flow is blocked by swelling. If you're unable to urinate after the tube is removed, your doctor may replace the catheter for some time to allow you to heal or give you catheters that you can insert on your own a few times a day until swelling goes down and you can urinate again normally.

You may also notice:

• Blood in your urine. You may see blood for a few days to weeks after the procedure. But if the blood in your urine is thick like ketchup, bleeding appears to be worsening or if blood clots block your urine flow, call your doctor.
• Irritating urinary symptoms. You may feel an urgent or frequent need to urinate, or you may have to get up more often during the night to urinate. Generally most men experience burning, especially at the tip of their penis, near the end of urination. With some types of laser surgery, these symptoms can last for weeks or even months depending on how you heal and the size of your prostate.
• Difficulty holding urine. This can occur because your bladder is used to having to push urine through a urethra narrowed by enlarged prostate tissue. For most men, this issue improves with time.

Follow your doctor's instructions about any specific restrictions or steps you need to take after the procedure. These may include:

• Take it easy. Don't do any strenuous activity, such as heavy lifting, until your doctor says it's OK. This can be up to two weeks after HoLEP, but as short as a few days with procedures such as PVP.
• Hold off on sex. Don't have sex until your doctor says it's OK. For most men, this is a week or two after the procedure. Having an orgasm (ejaculating) too soon may cause pain and bleeding.
• Watch for blood in your urine. You may see blood for a few days to weeks after the procedure. But if the blood in your urine is thick, the bleeding appears to be worsening or if a blood clot block your urine flow, call your doctor.
• Take medication as prescribed. If your doctor prescribed antibiotics, make sure to take the full course of exactly as your doctor says.

Prostate laser surgery improves urinary flow in most men. Often, results are long lasting. In some cases, especially ablation techniques, the laser surgery doesn't remove all of the prostate tissue blocking urine flow or the tissue grows back, and further treatment is needed. If you notice any worsening urinary symptoms, make an appointment to see your doctor.