Transurethral Incision of the Prostate (TUIP)
TUIP has been used for 30 years and is simpler, safer, and less expensive than transurethral resection of the prostate (TURP). As with TURP, TUIP is done through the urethra, so there is no incision through the skin. But instead of removing tissue, as with TURP, or destroying the tissue with heat as with the newer technologies, the surgeon widens the urethra and relaxes the constriction of the urethra by making several small incisions in the neck of the bladder down to the prostate capsule. A knife, a laser, or an electrode is used to make the incision, and the instrument of choice is inserted through a resectoscope, as with TURP. TUIP can be performed on an outpatient basis under local anesthesia or as an overnight hospitalization procedure done under spinal or general anesthesia.
