Dr. Sarat Sabharwal has extensive training and experience in open and minimally invasive surgical procedures. He uses stents to treat patients suffering from male lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS) and benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH). Although stents may not be the traditional approach used when addressing these conditions, Dr. Sarat Sabharwal, and other physicians like him, use them because many patients prefer them.

LUTS and BPH are conditions in which the male urethra becomes partially or completely blocked, making it difficult or impossible to urinate. One common treatment for these conditions is the Foley catheter, a long thin rubber tube that is inserted through the urethra and into the bladder, allowing urine to drain into a bag. It is sometimes called an “indwelling catheter” because it can be left inside the body for a period of time. Of course, this procedure means that the patient has a long tube inside his body and has to carry a urine bag with him everywhere.

Stents offer an alternative. They can either be temporary or permanent, and they are also placed inside the body. However, a stent is small, and its function is to widen the urethra so that urination can take place naturally. It involves a minimally invasive procedure in which the patient is given a local anesthetic and typically takes only 15 minutes. Patients are generally discharged from the hospital on the same day.

Additionally, some patients are given stents because their condition is too severe for medication or other more invasive procedures. Stents offer them a treatment option that is effective without open surgery.