Your telephonic assessment for an enlarged prostate

We'll talk through your urinary symptoms and relevant history, and help you understand whether prostate artery embolization (PAE) may be a suitable option for your situation. Where useful, we'll explain broadly what the procedure involves and what the next steps would be — including any imaging or referrals that may be needed. This is an information and orientation discussion, not a diagnosis or a commitment to treatment.

A good starting point is how much your urinary symptoms affect your daily life — things like frequent trips to the bathroom (especially at night), a weak or interrupted flow, difficulty starting, or a feeling of not fully emptying. A widely-used way to measure this is the IPSS (International Prostate Symptom Score), a short questionnaire that scores the impact of your symptoms and helps indicate whether it's worth looking into further. You can take our online IPSS quiz here to calculate your score, and we'll talk through what it means for your options during the consultation.

Prostate artery embolization is a minimally-invasive, image-guided procedure performed by an interventional radiologist. Rather than removing prostate tissue surgically, it reduces blood supply to the prostate so that it shrinks over time, easing urinary symptoms. It's an alternative worth understanding alongside medication and surgical options — this consultation helps you work out whether it may fit your case.

It's for men with an enlarged prostate (benign prostatic hyperplasia) who have heard there may be a less-invasive alternative to surgery and want to understand their options — or who simply aren't sure which pathway fits and would like help working that out before booking an in-person specialist appointment. A list of the available procedures can be found at the www.ctir.co.za website.

The consultation is approximately 15–20 minutes by phone, at a scheduled time that suits you.

You're welcome to be seen in person. Simply message us on WhatsApp and we'll arrange an in-person appointment for you with the Cape Town Interventional Radiology team at UCT Private Academic Hospital.

You're welcome to see a urologist directly. But if you'd first like to understand whether you may even be a candidate for PAE, a telephonic consult with someone familiar with the procedure may be cheaper and more convenient than an in-person specialist consultation — a quicker way to find out before committing the time and cost of an in-person appointment. It's simply an option to help you decide how to proceed.

No — neither is required to have the consultation. That said, if you've had any relevant scans, a recent PSA result, or reports, having them on hand for the call is helpful, as they give us more to work with. It's recommended but not essential.

Payment is by SnapScan, using the button above or the link we've sent you. Your consultation is confirmed once payment is received.

Consultations are self-pay and not billed to medical aid directly. However, we provide a detailed invoice that you're welcome to submit to your medical aid yourself for possible reimbursement.