The Rezūm System: Minimally Invasive Treatment for BPH Using Water Vapor (Steam): Why Consider It?

The Rezūm System™ is based on phase-change convective heat transfer with water vapor (steam) to ablate tissue. This is distinctly different than conductive heat transfer used by earlier devices such as radiofrequency or microwave systems. A summary of the early work is presented as well as a discussion of the important principles that make phase-change convective heating particularly useful in the prostate. Preliminary work suggests clinical promise for treating men with BPH and has led to a large scale trial to assess safety and efficacy of the procedure.