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Overview of Benchtop Models for Comparison of Surgical Treatments for Benign Prostatic Hyperplasia

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Abstract

Purpose of Review

Benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) is a disease of the lower urinary tract which often requires surgical treatment. Recently, there has been a deluge of new treatment options, rarely validated or compared to current treatments on a benchtop model. The purpose of this review is to examine the literature and report which benchtop models are currently being used, which therapies have been tested on them, and what outcomes are being studied on each model.

Recent Findings

There are various benchtop models to choose from, each with their unique benefits and drawbacks. Perfused porcine kidney models are used to assess bleeding on the benchtop, ex-vivo human prostate helps to see specific interactions of devices with the prostatic tissue, and all other models have evaluated tissue ablation rates and depth of coagulation. There are currently no synthetic or non-animal tissues being used for this purpose, and surgical techniques such as enucleation, water-jet ablation, prostate stents, and water vapor thermal therapy have no representation in these benchtop tests.

Summary

Benchtop testing serves an important role in the evaluation and comparison of surgical treatments for BPH. This testing allows these therapies to be objectively compared to one another, helping novel medical devices in their path to market and urologists make treatment decisions. Future directions may include further validation of the animal models currently being used and development of synthetic models which mimic the prostate on the benchtop.

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Papers of particular interest, published recently, have been highlighted as: • Of importance •• Of major importance

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Urology, Houston Methodist Hospital, Scurlock Tower Suite 2100, 6560 Fannin St, Houston, TX, 77030, USA

    Kevin Birdsall & Ricardo R. Gonzalez

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Contributions

KB and RRG conceived and wrote the manuscript. KB did the literature review, table, and references.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Kevin Birdsall.

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Competing Interests

RRG is a consultant and advisory board member for Boston Scientific and Procept Biorobotics. RRG is an investigator for Butterfly Medical, Prodeon, Proverum, and Zenflow. RRG is a shareholder in Procept Biorobotics.

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Principles of Helsinki Declaration were followed in lieu of formal ethics committee approval.

Conflict of Interest

Dr. Gonzalez is an investigator and consultant for Boston Scientific. He is also a consultant and shareholder for PROCEPT BioRobotics, and an investigator for Butterfly Medical, Prodeon, Proverum, and Zenflow.

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This article does not contain any studies with human or animal subjects performed by any of the authors.

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Birdsall, K., Gonzalez, R.R. Overview of Benchtop Models for Comparison of Surgical Treatments for Benign Prostatic Hyperplasia. Curr Urol Rep 24, 571–577 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11934-023-01189-y

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