Safety and feasibility study of holmium laser enucleation of the prostate (HOLEP) on patients receiving dual antiplatelet therapy (DAPT)

To evaluate the safety and feasibility of Holmium laser enucleation of the prostate (HoLEP) in patients receiving dual antiplatelet therapy (DAPT). From March 2013 to August 2016, we retrospectively analyzed 1124 benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) patients undergoing HoLEP and divided into four groups: 56 cases receiving DAPT therapy (group A); 72 patients treated with continuous single antiplatelet (AP) therapy (group B); 41 patients treated with single AP therapy but intermittent during preoperative time (group C) and 955 cases had no AP therapy (group D). Patients' baseline characteristics, 1-year clinical outcomes, rates of postoperative bleeding and complications were presented in this study. All patients received successful operations and no severe postoperative complications occurred. Only one patient in Group D required transfusion. The enucleation time and catheterization time for the DAPT patients were the longest among four groups (p < 0.001, respectively). The overall complications rates within 30 days were 23.2% (13/56) in Group A, 27.8% (20/72) in Group B, 19.5% (8/41) in Group C, and 27.0% (258/955) in Group D, respectively (p = 0.678). By the 12 months, the international prostate symptom scores (IPSS), quality of life scores (QOL) and residual urine volume (RUV) in all groups have been significantly improved. HoLEP in patients receiving DAPT after coronary artery stunting showed similar results to those achieved in patients receiving single AP therapy or non-AP therapy. It can be a good option, which the urologists can offer to those patients with symptomatic benign prostatic hyperplasia refractory to medical treatment.