Rezum or TURP? Steam vs resection — where a Busan urologist draws the line.

Treatment page

Rezum in Busan

The page behind this comparison — water-vapour therapy for BPH, the catheter days, and the honest three-month timeline.

Read the Rezum page →

How Rezum and TURP each work — and why Urogyn in Busan offers one

Rezum injects nine-second bursts of sterile water vapour into the prostate; the heat destroys tissue that the body reabsorbs over weeks, shrinking the gland from inside. TURP (transurethral resection of the prostate) cuts the obstructing tissue away with an electrical loop under spinal or general anaesthesia, with a hospital stay of two to three nights. Urogyn in Busan Seomyeon performs Rezum, listed from ₩10,000,000, and refers men who need TURP to a hospital — because for a large gland or a man in retention, TURP is still the right operation.

That is the frame for this whole guide. Rezum's advantages are real: day procedure, local anaesthesia with sedation, no cutting, preserved ejaculation in most men. TURP's advantage is also real: it removes the most tissue, works at any size, and relieves obstruction immediately. The Rezum page and the prostate hub describe where each sits on the ladder.

Prostate volume: the first line a Busan urologist draws

Rezum works well on glands up to roughly 80 ml and can be used, with more injections, somewhat beyond that. Above about 100 ml the amount of tissue to be shrunk is simply too much for vapour to handle reliably, and TURP — or for very large glands, laser enucleation at a hospital — becomes the answer. The ₩600,000 full prostate check-up at our Seomyeon clinic measures volume on transrectal ultrasound, and that number is the first thing we look at. A man with a 120 ml prostate is told, in writing, that Rezum is not the right procedure for him, before he books a flight.

Urinary retention and bladder health: the second line

A man who has had acute retention — unable to pass urine at all, needing a catheter — or who has a large residual volume and a bladder that has started to weaken, needs the obstruction relieved promptly and completely. Rezum's effect builds over weeks, which is acceptable for a man with bothersome symptoms and a healthy bladder, and not acceptable for a man whose bladder is already struggling. For retention, TURP is the usual recommendation, and we say so. Our guide to BPH warning signs explains how to recognise the bladder that is running out of time.

• 1 Bothersome symptoms, good bladder emptying, gland under ~80 ml. Rezum is appropriate; UroLift or Progator may also be — see UroLift vs Rezum.
• 2 Large residual, weakening bladder, or gland over ~100 ml. TURP or enucleation at a hospital.
• 3 Retention with a catheter in place. TURP. Rezum's weeks-long onset is the wrong tool.

Ejaculation: the reason many men choose Rezum

TURP removes the bladder neck tissue that closes during ejaculation, so most men afterwards have retrograde ejaculation — orgasm with little or no semen. It is harmless but permanent, and for a sexually active man in his fifties or sixties it is often the deciding factor. Rezum spares the bladder neck in most cases and published rates of new ejaculatory dysfunction are low. Erectile function is preserved by both. At our Busan clinic this is discussed before any BPH procedure, because a man who was never told about retrograde ejaculation before TURP is one of the commonest second opinions we see.

Who decides

Dr. Kim Tae-kyung — BPH focus

Director of the Busan branch, MD and MS from Pusan National University, adjunct professor at Ulsan University Hospital. Performs Rezum, UroLift and Progator in Seomyeon and refers for TURP when that is the right operation.

Read about Rezum in Busan →

Recovery: a day procedure versus a hospital stay

Rezum is a day procedure under sedation. A catheter is placed afterwards and stays for several days — the Rezum page is honest that this is the least pleasant part — and symptoms are often worse before they are better as the treated tissue swells and is then reabsorbed. Improvement is felt from about four weeks and continues to three months. TURP needs spinal or general anaesthesia, a hospital stay of two to three nights with a catheter and bladder irrigation, and about two weeks of blood in the urine; relief, however, is immediate once the catheter comes out. Our Rezum recovery timeline gives the week-by-week detail, including when international patients can fly.

Price: what the check-up decides, and what Urogyn does not charge for

Rezum is listed from ₩10,000,000 at Urogyn, the same starting price as UroLift and Progator so that no man chooses on price. The ₩600,000 check-up is separate. TURP is not on our list because we do not perform it; the referral, the ultrasound report and the written assessment that go with it are not charged. The BPH cost guide covers what moves the Rezum figure, and the full price list shows every item.

Who ends up with which — the pattern at our Busan clinic

A man with bothersome symptoms, a gland under about 80 ml, a bladder that empties well and a wish to preserve ejaculation is a Rezum candidate — or a UroLift or Progator candidate, depending on the median lobe; see Progator vs UroLift. A man with a gland over 100 ml, a large residual, a history of retention, or recurrent bleeding from the prostate is a TURP candidate and is referred. Men between these lines are discussed individually, and the written assessment they receive from Busan says which way we lean and why.

What to bring from home so the Busan visit decides quickly

For the Rezum-or-TURP question, three records from home do most of the work: a recent ultrasound report giving prostate volume, a post-void residual measurement or any note of retention, and the PSA with its date. Volume over about 100 ml, a large residual or a retention episode point to TURP before you have booked anything, and we will tell you so by message rather than have you fly to Busan to hear it. A list of current medication matters too, because men already on combination therapy with persistent symptoms have a larger gland on average. If no imaging exists, the ₩600,000 check-up on day one at our Seomyeon clinic provides all of it, and Rezum can follow the next day where it is appropriate. Our what to bring guide lists the practical items, and the records and prescriptions guide explains what you can take home.

How it runs at our Busan Seomyeon clinic — and your next step

Message us with your symptoms, any episode of retention, current medication, and any PSA or ultrasound results. We reply in writing with whether Rezum is appropriate, whether you are more likely a TURP candidate, and the figure if Rezum applies. Nothing is booked until you confirm and no deposit is taken. The clinic is one minute from Seomyeon Station exit 7; the contact page has directions.