Holmium laser enucleation of the prostate: a paradigm shift in benign prostatic hyperplasia surgery

Holmium laser enucleation (HoLEP) was developed in the 1990s as a more efficient and cost effective method of benign prostatic hyperplasia surgery than laser vaporization and resection techniques. As a true anatomical enucleation it mimics open prostatectomy and is as durable. There is a significant body of level 1 evidence in support of HoLEP, including 2 meta-analyses and 14 randomized trials which compare HoLEP with a number of other procedures. This review describes the development of and summarizes the evidence for HoLEP.