Dr Eder Pereira, head of Urology at the Santa Casa Hospital in Itatiba, Sao Paulo, performed the first Schelin Catheter®-assisted TURP (transurethral resection of the prostate) procedure in Brazil, supported by ProstaLund. Dr Pereira administered a mix of adrenaline and lidocaine into the prostate through the Schelin Catheter, before starting the TURP procedure.

Adrenaline, in principle, reduces the blood flow in the prostate, and as the objective was to assess the impact of the technique on the peri-operative bleeding, the regular spinal anesthesia protocol was maintained.

Dr Pereira: “I was positively surprised about the very significant reduction of periprocedural bleeding using adrenaline with help of the Schelin Catheter. In fact, there was practically no bleeding. The improved visibility gave me additional control in the procedure and the fact that there was no need to treat the customary bleeding, saved me approximately 30 minutes from the procedure time. Our TURP anesthesia protocol will now be modified. We will exclude spinal anesthesia, administer adrenaline plus local anesthetics with the Schelin Catheter, and combine it with light sedation.”

TURP has been the golden standard since the 1960s and is the world's most common treatment method for benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH/BPE). It is estimated that TURP accounts for about 80-90 percent of the treatments performed, worldwide on an annual basis.

Adriano Ribeiro, Commercial Director of Gadali Medical, the exclusive Brazilian distributor of ProstaLund: “We are receiving a very positive reception of the Schelin Catheter® from Brazilian urologists, not least at the recent congress Jornada Paulista de Urologia in Campinas during the weekend, and we are now adding manpower to support Urology centers preparing to adopt the Schelin Catheter.”

Johan Wennerholm, CEO ProstaLund: “The fact that we now have such a great interest in a country like Brazil with just over 200 million inhabitants, where TURP is currently basically the only treatment method for BPH/BPE, will of course resonate throughout the urology world. Together with the minimally invasive methods already served by Schelin Catheter®, our future market has become gigantic. "Seeing Is Believing" and I am extremely happy about our flying start in South America.