This paper reevaluates the recently reported excess mortality following transurethral
resection of the prostate (TURP) for benign hypertrophy as compared with traditional open
resection (OPEN). We studied survival through linkage of hospital discharge data with
mortality data for the entire male population of Denmark (1977-85). For a maximum of 10.5
years 38,067 prostatectomy patients were followed. Adjusting for age and health status
before surgery, TURP patients were subject to significantly higher levels of mortality than …