Purpose: We assessed the mortality rate from transurethral resection of the prostate.
Materials and methods: From 1976 to 1984, 4,708 patients undergoing transurethral resection of the prostate for benign prostatic hypertrophy (BPH) were compared retrospectively to an age-matched group of 4,708 randomly selected Kaiser Permanente Medical Care Program members not undergoing surgery. The risk of mortality associated with transurethral resection of the prostate relative to no surgery was determined using proportional hazards models.
Results: The relative risk for surgery versus no surgery for the total group was 0.88 (95% confidence interval 0.82 to 0.95). Similarly, the results for each 5-year age group demonstrated a relative risk of 0.77 to 0.95.
Conclusions: This cohort study showed no excess mortality for patients undergoing transurethral resection of the prostate compared to age-matched comparison subjects randomly selected from health plan members who did not undergo surgery. Information from this study about the safety of transurethral resection of the prostate can be shared with patients when discussing treatment options.