May 25, 2010

On June 7 El Camino Hospital Los Gatos will open a new program to treat non-cancerous prostate problems and erectile dysfunction.

These two conditions affect a large percentage of men over 60 and the hospital estimates that more than 200,000 men in surrounding communities are affected.

Called the Men’s Health Program it will be located in the new clinic located at El Camino Hospital Los Gatos.  There urologists can diagnose and treat benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH), erectile dysfunction (ED), incontinence, prostate cancer and kidney and bladder stones.

El Camino Hospital estimates that BPH and ED affect more than 200,000 men in the cities it services including Mountain View, Los Gatos, Los Altos, Sunnyvale, Saratoga and Campbell.

The hospital hopes this program, with it’s specific target areas, will provide an environment for men to seek treatment of conditions that may not be discussed at a regular doctor visit. The hospital stated in a press release that many men seek help through the Internet or advertisements and don’t get properly treated.

One of the symptoms of BPH can be the inability to urinate and, if untreated, BPH could lead to bladder or kidney damage, bladder stones, and incontinence.

Erectile Dysfunction can be a sign of heart disease, a connection that is often overlooked even among physicians, said Dr. Patrick Wherry, a San Jose urologist at El Camino Hospital Los Gatos in a press release.

As men age ED and BPH become very common. The National Institutes of Health (NIH) estimate that up to 30 million men in the U.S. have some form of ED. It affects 17 percent of men in their 60s and almost half of men 75 or older. And more than nine million men annually have some form of BPH. It affects more than half of men between the ages of 60 and 70 and as much as 90 percent of men between 70 and 90.