Complications of Enlarged Prostate

Reference Benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) Opens New Window rarely has complications. When it does, they are often due to severe obstruction of the urine flow. These complications include:

• Complete blockage of the Reference urethra Opens New Window (acute urinary retention, or AUR). This results in a complete inability to urinate. It can cause kidney damage, which may be reversed if the problem is diagnosed and treated before the damage becomes too severe. It may also result in waste products building up in the blood. A tube called a Reference catheter Opens New Window may be needed to drain urine from the Reference bladder Opens New Window.
• Long-term, partial blockage of urine flow from the bladder (chronic urinary retention, or CUR). This causes urine to remain in the bladder after urination (post-void residual urine). In rare cases, this may lead to kidney damage, which may be reversed if the problem is diagnosed and treated before the damage becomes too severe. It may also result in waste products building up in the blood.
• A Reference urinary tract infection (UTI) Opens New Window. But repeated urinary tract infections can also be caused by long-term inflammation or infection in the prostate (Reference chronic prostatitis Opens New Window).

Other complications of BPH may include Reference bladder stones Opens New Window or Reference bladder infections Opens New Window and visible blood in the urine (gross hematuria).

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