We are the combination of four hospitals: the General Hospital, the Children’s Hospital, the Women’s Hospital and the Traumatology, Rehabilitation and Burns Hospital. We are part of the Vall d’Hebron Barcelona Hospital Campus: a world-leading health park where healthcare plays a crucial role.
Below we will list the departments and units that form part of Vall d’Hebron Hospital and the main diseases that we treat. We will also make recommendations based on advice backed up by scientific evidence that has been shown to be effective in guaranteeing well-being and quality of life.
Vols saber com serà la teva estada a l’Hospital Universitari Vall d’Hebron? Aquí trobaràs tota la informació.
The prostate is a glandular organ present in men and is crossed by the urethra. It is involved in semen formation (80% of its content) and is therefore a sexual organ. When it grows, especially after the age of 50, it results in benign hyperplasia, but there are some symptoms, as the prostatic urethra consequently becomes narrower and thus obstructs the normal passage of urine.
The urethra is the urinary passage that goes from the bladder to the outside. In men, it has two branches; the prostatic urethra (passing through the prostate) and the spongy urethra, which crosses the entire penis to the outside.
When the prostate grows in size (benign prostatic hyperplasia or BPH), the diameter of the urethra decreases and symptoms occur. The obstruction of the urethra by the prostate is progressive and causes repercussions in the bladder, which requires more effort to drain the urine. It can also lead to urinary infections and the formation of lithiasis (stony concretions or calculi) from the salts contained in urine because it is not emptied easily and thus sedimentation of salts takes place.
If the obstruction is very large, the difficulty in removing the urine can cause the kidneys to be damaged because the bladder cannot be emptied properly.
More frequently urinating than normal, urinating at night, loss of force in urine stream, urinary urgency (the patient feels an intense urge to urinate) and also episodes in which urine escapes.
Men over the age of 50, with an increase in incidence as they get older.
Diagnosis is reached through clinical history, where the patient’s symptoms are ascertained, and a rectal touch, where the doctor accesses the prostate to assess the size and any abnormalities. An ultrasound will give information on the kidneys, the size of the prostate and the degree of drainage of the bladder.
A PSA test allows us to investigate suspected prostate cancer.
It is initially based on oral medications that relax the prostate muscles and facilitate the passage and normal evacuation of urine, or others that reduce its volume. In more advanced stages, drainage of the central part of the prostate should be done through a transurethral resection or laser enucleation.
Physical examination, ultrasound, PSA test. Urine flow test and assessment of post-void residual urine
Not applicable. Periodic checks for the onset of symptoms are the key to early diagnosis.
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