ES News email The latest headlines in your inbox twice a day Monday - Friday plus breaking news updates Enter your email address Continue Please enter an email address Email address is invalid Fill out this field Email address is invalid You already have an account. Please log in Register with your social account or click here to log in I would like to receive lunchtime headlines Monday - Friday plus breaking news alerts, by email Update newsletter preferences

A pioneering procedure that uses steam injections to cure one of the most common prostate problems was being offered for the first time in a London hospital today.

Two men were undergoing the less invasive treatment at Charing Cross Hospital in Hammersmith. A probe is inserted via the urethra and the enlarged prostate is blasted with water vapour, destroying cells and causing the gland to shrink over the following fortnight and “repair itself”.

It is far quicker and less risky than the traditional surgery. Patients can be discharged after two hours rather than requiring several days in hospital.

Professor Hashim Ahmed, who is carrying out the procedure, said: “The treatment is remarkable. It takes a procedure that normally requires 60 to 70 minutes under general anaesthetic, and has a one to two per cent risk of incontinence and a five to 10 per cent risk of erectile dysfunction, and does it under sedation in about 10 minutes.”

One in three men over 40 suffers from an enlarged prostate, causing discomfort and difficulty urinating. Thousands have the traditional operation, known as transurethral resection of the prostate, every year. This involves using electrocautery or a laser to “chisel” out part of the gland. It is one of the most common urological procedures in the NHS.

Imperial College Healthcare, the trust that runs Charing Cross, performs about 250 a year — but a similar number of men decline it because of the risks.

Professor Ahmed believes thousands stand to benefit from the new, cheaper procedure, called Rezum Water Vapour, imported from America. A US study and tests in Europe found risk of incontinence and impotence was cut to virtually zero. Professor Ahmed said: “We can offer it to those who are on lifelong medication who opted not to have surgery because they were worried about side effects of traditional surgery.”

The condition is different to prostate cancer, which can require the removal of the entire gland.

