Use of biodegradable stents after visual laser UUses oef o bfi obdioedgergardaadbaleb lset esntetns tasf taefrte vri svuisaul alla slaesrer Use of biodegradable stents after visual laser ablation of the prostate abalabtliaotnio nof o tfh teh per porsotasteate ablation of the prostate Introduction Introduction

Introduction In 1980, Fabian introduced a urological spiral to keep the prostatic lobes from compressing the urethra, thus allowing spontaneous voiding.1 Since then, permanent and temporary stents have been used to relieve infravesical obstruction. Permanent stents have been described as incorporated into tissue and temporary stents as removable, although nowadays the difference between these has become less clear, because temporary stents have been left for long periods, semi-permanently. As a result of active research for better stents, new stent materials and designs have been introduced. Although the idea of stenting the male urethra seems quite simple and attractive, stents have had many side effects and technical problems, such as encrustation, migration and irritative symptoms. Progress in manufacturing biodegradable materials has enabled helical spirals to be produced that can be used as biodegradable stents. The major advantage of a biodegradable spiral stent is that there is no need for removal of the implanted material. This chapter deals with experiences with the use of a biodegradable spiral stent combined with visual laser ablation of the prostate (VLAP).