Changes in bladder wall thickness and detrusor wall thickness after surgical treatment of benign prostatic enlargement in patients with lower urinary tract symptoms: a preliminary report

The purpose of the present study was to evaluate the perioperative changes in bladder wall thickness and detrusor wall thickness after transurethral prostatectomy. Fifty-one men who were treated for benign prostatic hyperplasia/lower urinary tract symptoms with transurethral prostatectomy were prospectively analyzed from May 2012 to July 2013. Prostate size, detrusor wall thickness, and bladder wall thickness were assessed by transrectal and transabdominal ultrasonography perioperatively. All postoperative evaluations were performed 1 month after the surgery. The patients' mean age was 69.0 years, the mean prostate-specific antigen concentration was 8.1 ng/mL, and the mean prostate volume was 63.2 mL. The mean bladder wall thickness was 5.1 mm (standard deviation [SD], ±1.6), 5.1 mm (SD, ±1.6), and 5.0 mm (SD, ±1.4) preoperatively and 4.5 mm (SD, ±1.5), 4.5 mm (SD, ±1.3), and 4.6 mm (SD, ±1.2) postoperatively in the anterior wall, dome, and trigone, respectively (p=0.178, p=0.086, and p=0.339, respectively). The mean detrusor wall thickness was 0.9 mm (SD, ±0.4) preoperatively and 0.7 mm (SD, ±0.3) postoperatively (p=0.001). A subgroup analysis stratifying patients into a large prostate group (weight, ≥45 g) and a high Abrams-Griffiths number group (>30) showed a significant decrease in detrusor wall thickness (p=0.002, p=0.018). There was a decrease in detrusor wall thickness after transurethral prostatectomy. The large prostate group and the high Abrams-Griffiths number group showed a significant decrease in detrusor wall thickness after surgery.