What is Aquablation® treatment?

Aquablation® is a treatment for benign prostate enlargement, and it uses high pressure water jets to ablate or destroy the prostate tissue that's causing a blockage. Now, the special thing about Aquablation® is that it's a new robotic procedure. So, we use an ultrasound probe to accurately map the prostate and then we design how much prostate we want to ablate. And then actually, a robot-controlled arm uses the high-pressure water to ablate the prostate according to the plan that we've made.

How long does it take to recover from Aquablation®?

The Aquablation® procedure is usually done here at Benenden Hospital, one night stay in hospital and you have a catheter in for that night. Then the next day, the catheter comes out and patients go home. So, for the first couple of weeks, you might have a little bit of stinging, burning and maybe going to the toilet a little bit more often. But by two weeks that should have pretty much completely settled down, and most patients are fully recovered by four weeks.

How long does Aquablation® last?

The Aquablation® procedure itself takes about an hour and 15 minutes or so to do. And the results of the procedure seem to be extremely durable. There have been several trials now showing equivalent results to the standard treatments at five years. As it's a newer treatment, we don't have long, long term follow up, but it looks very promising at this stage.

My name is Philip Ralph. I live in Milton Keynes. I presently work full time as a contracts manager and I was a self-payer for Aquablation, which was completed on the 11th of December 2023.

Through a total surprise, I had total bladder retention when I was on holiday in September 2023. I had to go to A&E in Norfolk and I had a catheter fitted to enable me to urinate. And it came as a complete surprise to me. Matter of chance, I saw some information about Aquablation that I felt was only available in America. And to my surprise, I saw some information that Benenden Hospital in the UK actually offered this procedure which was robotic and offered fewer side effects and a better recovery chance for me, as I was concerned that I did not want to have a catheter for the rest of my life.

I was very surprised I could see Mr. Garnett within a week for an initial consultation. So I was pleased to travel the distance from Milton Keynes to come down and see Mr. Garnett. On the actual day of the consultation, I brought my notes from my doctor and he was very pleased to receive those notes and he actually discussed my symptoms and the procedures that were available. He reassured me about understanding my problems and, to my surprise, he said he had an available appointment for surgery the following Monday. He did explain about each procedure, but before I could make my final decision, he asked me to take some time to discuss what I really wanted.

The nursing staff were very, very helpful and very, very caring. Whilst to their surprise, I was undergoing a pre-op on the same day, although they just expected to have a chat over my possible options available to me. So I was very, very happy and very, very pleased.

Benenden Hospital is situated in nice countryside, and when you approach the hospital, it's so inviting, with plenty of car parking facilities and there is no stress and there is no hassle and that puts your mind at ease from as soon as you walk in the door.

Aquablation has made my life back to normal. It has given me my life back. I no longer have a catheter. I don't have any symptoms. I don't have any incontinence. I'm able to urinate absolutely perfectly. I don't have to go to the toilet frequently. It is as if I'd never experienced any problems. I am fully recovered and I am so happy. I chose Benenden and Aquablation. The expertise is absolutely fantastic. The knowledge of the staff is second to none. The Aquablation treatment is first class. It is modern, it is robotic, it is accurate and I have nothing more I can say. Please, please, please consider Aquablation and Benenden Hospital. It is absolutely brilliant. Please see your local GP surgery.

Since I've returned to work, a number of my work colleagues have approached me to say they have similar symptoms, and it's surprising how many men suffer and don't talk to people. And unfortunately, one gentleman said to me, I don't have the same symptoms that you have because I urinate quite regularly and in fact, probably more than I need to. But he didn't believe he had any symptoms.

Whilst I was researching the different treatments available to me for my symptoms, I also researched the hospitals available for those treatments. And I noticed that Benenden Hospital had received an Outstanding rating from the CQC for its services. And that is very surprising because of the many hospitals I reviewed, only Benenden had reached that outstanding level of service.

Because of my very, very pleasant and successful experience at Benenden Hospital, I've signed up for the loyalty scheme and I'm looking forward to looking at benefits I can gain from that scheme as the treatment here is so, so good and I would not hesitate to use the services of the hospital again.