Well, first of all you can have Urolift done in San Antonio, Texas for $2500, total cost and fly home the next day. Check with Dr Nadeen Kella in San Antonio. I thought that was the best solution for me but I didn't qualify as my prostate was too large, 114mg, and had a third lobe protruding into the bladder. Either condition would have disqualified me. So, if your urologist is considering urolift he/she must know that the size and configuration is compatible with urolift, right? The only way they could know would be by viewing with a cystoscope and by ultrasound through the rectum. Don't be afraid of these if you have not had them done. They are nothing to dread. Patient reports in these forums indicate that urolift appears to be a reasonable stop-gap procedure which usually works for a few years, then the prostate has grown larger and you are once again facing surgery. There are cases where it didn't work at all, probably with inadequately trained surgeons, I suppose.
A multitude of patient reports in these forums reflect negatively on Green light laser surgery. For myself I would never consider it, there are much better options such as Button Turp and Holmium Laser enucleation of the prostate; HOlep. My urologist's usual method is Button turp and he recommended it to me until it was discovered that my prostate was too large for Turp also. So my only options were supra-pubic simple prostatectomy (incision below the navel, into the bladder and core out the prostate via the bladder neck, HORRORS) or Holep which accesses the prostate thru the urethra, like Green Light or Turp, except Holep uses a much more precise, more controllable laser than Green light with highly-experienced surgeons and performed only in large University Hospitals or Clinics such as the Mayos. It is much less dangerous and invasive and almost always has very satisfactory results. It may be difficult to find a Holep surgeon but they I'm sure that they exist somewhere in Canada.
If Holep is not a possibility then I would insist on Button Turp. Canada will have many thousands of surgeons performing that procedure. It is widely known to be easier on the patient than Green Light and I would be suspicious of any surgeon still using green light nowadays.
I was very fortunate in finding a Holep surgeon at the Mayo Clinic in Phoenix who could slot me into his schedule in about 30 days. I had the procedure done on October 31st. I never had any actual pain only pink urine and mild discomfort for about a week. It has been thirty eight days now and I am enjoying a new life. I get urges to urinate every three or four hours and can wait for half an hour or so before finding a bathroom. I completely empty my bladder every time. My stream would knock the bark off of a tree. I'm 76 and I don't recall, even as a teenager, having a stream like now. I find that I'm taking a lot more liquids, drinking beer usually instead of wine or liquor, than I used to since urinating was always such a problem. I sometimes get up once every night if I took a lot of liquids the day before. In short, I'm more normal than I have been in at least thirty years and I'm really enjoying my new life.
I have said many times in these forums that if I could go back ten years I would never take any of the meds, such as Flomax. It works fine for awhile but sooner or later it won't be enough and they will prescribe more meds which will effectively castrate you, maybe permanently.
Rather than taking any of the Meds I would first try to have Holep done. If that isn't possible I would have Button Turp, not Green Light Laser. If I were having Urolift done it would be by a surgeon who has done at least a few dozen of the procedures. It's a minimal learning curve but still ............................!
Learning what we have in the last six months of participating in these forums every day I think I would just gut up and have either Holep or Button Turp done and skip Urolift. It 's a stop-gap measure at best and the Prostate will continue to grow. That's another factor about Holep, though, it's a once and done routine, only one percent of Holep patients have another procedure later on.
Whatever you decide (or is decided for you), post your results here and continue to update. Many thousands of BPH patients will read these posts. I first learned about Urolift on the web and here in these forums. I then learned about Holep in these forums. My urologist recommended against both of them. Actual patients, not medical professionals, have given me the information to help me gain a new life and I intend to give back. I am very grateful to the posters who revealed options I never knew existed. I hope you will offer the benefit of your experience as so many others do every day.
Best of luck to you and Merry Christmas!
Ron