Krongrad Institute Launches Ground Breaking Trial Of Minimally Invasive Surgery For Chronic Prostatitis

Main Category: Prostate / Prostate Cancer
Also Included In: Urology / Nephrology;  Clinical Trials / Drug Trials
Article Date: 07 Nov 2008 - 2:00 PDT

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Chronic prostatitis is a prostatic disease of relatively young men. It is associated with a cluster of potentially debilitating symptoms, including pain and bleeding upon urination and/or ejaculation, fever, malaise, and weakness. In severe cases, patients have pain from such mundane acts as sitting. Chronic prostatitis is not only potentially ruinous at the personal level. It is also a huge public health problem estimated to cause as many as two million doctor visits a year in the United States alone.

The Krongrad Institute for Minimally Invasive Prostate Surgery is launching a first-of-kind IRBapproved prospective, longitudinal, non-randomized, single-arm Phase II study of patients with a diagnosis of chronic prostatitis before and after laparoscopic radical prostatectomy, a form of minimally invasive surgery. "Individual clinical cases have shown that surgery using laparoscopic radical prostatectomy can eliminate the symptoms associated with chronic prostatitis. This represents a conceptual revolution for men who otherwise have no effective treatment option. The study -- the first of its kind -- aims to better characterize and quantify the effects of minimally invasive surgery on the symptoms of chronic prostatitis," said the study's principal investigator Arnon Krongrad, MD.

Surgery is (and should remain) a treatment of last resort for patients with severe, chronic prostatitis.

The current trial is based upon a very small number of direct observations made at the Krongrad Institute (and upon reports made by a few other surgeons) of men with severe, chronic prostatitis who have had symptomatic relief and/or complete elimination of symptoms following radical prostatectomy. The current intent is to prospectively apply a validated symptom severity index in anticipation of future multi-center trials. Specifically, we intend to prospectively quantify the likelihood of symptomatic relief and to make initial estimates of the magnitude and speed of such relief.


The study is being led by Arnon Krongrad, MD, who in 1999 pioneered the use of laparoscopic prostatectomy in the United States. Fundamental inclusion criteria for this trial are: an NIH-CPSI score of ≥ 25; failure of treatment with antibiotics and/or other medications; age ≥ 30 years. Specific exclusion criteria are the inability to tolerate anesthesia and the inability to speak English.

To learn more and to apply for participation please log on here.

Dr. Krongrad discussed prostatitis surgery on Living the Life.

http://www.laprp.com