Green Light Laser
A new green light laser at Burnaby Hospital is helping urology patients recover faster.
Left: Dr. John Warner with the Green Light Laser. “I’m incredibly grateful to our Foundation’s donors. Simply put, without their support, we could not buy equipment like the green light laser.”
The words “Green Light Laser” may conjure up the image in your mind’s eye, of something a superhero might use to protect Earth from an evil villain.
But in reality, the green light laser, used by urologists Dr. John Warner and Dr. Vu Truong is a state-of-the-art piece of surgical equipment that Burnaby Hospital was able to purchase because of the generous donations given from the community.
The green light laser is used to treat benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) which is a condition that refers to an increase in size of the prostate gland in middle-aged and elderly men.
Transurethral prostatic resection (TUPR) is the usual surgical treatment for men who suffer from an enlarged prostate. Prior to acquiring the green light laser, Burnaby Hospital’s busy urologists performed hundreds of these procedures each year.
Many of the patients that Drs. Warner and Truong care for are taking a variety of prescription drugs (such as blood thinners) for other health issues. If the traditional TUPR procedure is used, surgery must be delayed until blood levels meet surgical requirements before the TUPR can be performed. This situation must be monitored after surgery, and while TUPRs are a very successful way to treat enlarged prostates, the healing and recovery time necessitates an overnight stay in hospital and takes longer.
But with a new green light laser, patients can go home on the same day and recover much faster than if they had the traditional TUPR procedure. Surgery with a green light laser is effectively, a bloodless surgical procedure (because the laser vaporizes, cuts, and seals tissue all at the same time). And patients on blood thinners can be treated safely and immediately, heading home right after surgery like any other patient treated with the green light laser.
In addition to the obvious benefits for patients, the green light laser is helping Burnaby Hospital save precious health care dollars, as more patients can be treated in a timely manner, without need for overnight hospital stays.
And all of this is possible because of the wonderful support of our community.