Transurethral needle ablation of the prostate

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Transurethral needle ablation (TUNA) is a globally approved technique which can be done with a local anesthetic on an outpatient basis, and uses low energy radio frequency energy delivered through two needles to ablate (destroy) excess prostate tissue. A catheter that deploys the needles toward the obstructing prostate tissue is inserted into the urethra directly through the penis under local anaesthitic before the procedure begins. Some clinical studies have reported that TUNA improves the urine flow with minimal side effects when compared with other procedures.

History

The TUNA system was pioneered by serial entrepreneur Stu Edwards of California, USA.

The device was the product for a startup company called Vidamed, which was founded by Stu D. Edwards along with Ron G. Lax, Hugh Sharky and Ingemar Lundquist, in Menlo Park, California, prior to building an international global corporation headed up by Lyle F. Brotherton.

The company was floated in an IPO on the US NASDAQ Stock Market in 1995. The company was acquired by Medtronic in 1996

[edit] References

This article contains text derived from the public domain document at http://www.pueblo.gsa.gov/cic_text/health/prost-change/benign.htm.