Abstract
Background
We aimed to compare intraoperative and one-year postoperative outcomes of patients treated for benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) with holmium laser enucleation of the prostate using MOSESTM technology (M-HoLEP) and thulium fiber laser enucleation of the prostate (ThuFLEP).
Methods
We included 104 patients who underwent M-HoLEP or ThuFLEP between June 2022 and January 2024 in this randomized controlled trial. Patients’ preoperative and prostate data were evaluated. Intraoperative data and perioperative outcomes were analyzed over the 12-month follow-up period.
Results
Fifty-two patients underwent M-HoLEP, and 52 were managed with ThuFLEP. There were no statistically significant differences in the preoperative characteristics between the groups. M-HoLEP had a shorter median enucleation time (50 vs. 57.5 minutes, p < 0.001) and demonstrated significantly higher enucleation efficiency than ThuFLEP (1.97 vs. 1.49 g/min, p < 0.001). Significant differences were observed favoring M-HoLEP regarding continuous bladder irrigation time, hematuria scale, duration of postoperative hematuria, catheterization time, and hospital stay. Approximately 30.8% of ThuFLEP patients were admitted with immediate postoperative hematuria versus 7.7% in the M-HoLEP group, p = 0.003). The postoperative outcomes were comparable between the cohorts up to 12 months.
Conclusions
Thulium fiber laser (TFL) and MOSESTM technology achieved satisfactory intraoperative and postoperative functional outcomes in endoscopic enucleation of the prostate. However, MOSESTM technology demonstrated superior results in terms of enucleation time and efficiency, catheterization time, and hospital stay. M-HoLEP facilitates same-day trial-of-void and reduces postoperative hospital admissions.
This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution
Access options
Subscribe to this journal
Receive 6 print issues and online access
$259.00 per year
only $43.17 per issue
Buy this article
- Purchase on SpringerLink
- Instant access to the full article PDF.
USD 39.95
Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout

Similar content being viewed by others
Data availability
The datasets generated during and/or analysed during the current study are available from the corresponding author (H.E.) on reasonable request.
References
Herrmann TR. Enucleation is enucleation is enucleation is enucleation. World J Urol. 2016;34:1353–5.
Large T, Nottingham C, Stoughton C, Williams J Jr, Krambeck A. Comparative study of holmium laser enucleation of the prostate with MOSES enabled pulsed laser modulation. Urology. 2020;136:196–201.
Agarwal DK, Large T, Tong Y, Stoughton CL, Damler EM, Nottingham CU, et al. Same day discharge is a successful approach for the majority of patients undergoing holmium laser enucleation of the prostate. Eur Urol Focus. 2022;8:228–34.
Socarras MR, Del Alamo JF, Sancha FG. Long Live Holmium!. Eur Urol Open Sci. 2023;48:28–30.
Doizi S. Lasers for benign prostatic hyperplasia (hybrid, blue diode, TFL, Moses). Which one to choose?. Curr Opin Urol. 2022;32:438–42.
Dalton DC, Shelton TM, Rivera M. Laser technology advancements in the treatment of benign prostatic hypertrophy. Curr Urol Rep. 2024;25:71–8.
Elhilali MM, Badaan S, Ibrahim A, Andonian S. Use of the Moses technology to improve holmium laser lithotripsy outcomes: a preclinical study. J Endourol. 2017;31:598–604.
Bozzini G, Maltagliati M, Besana U, Berti L, Calori A, Sighinolfi MC, et al. Holmium laser enucleation of the prostate with Virtual Basket mode: faster and better control on bleeding. BMC Urol. 2021;21:28.
Kavoussi NL, Nimmagadda N, Robles J, Forbes C, Wang A, Stone B, et al. MOSES(TM) technology for holmium laser enucleation of the prostate: a prospective double-blind randomized controlled trial. J Urol. 2021;206:104–8.
Nottingham CU, Large T, Agarwal DK, Rivera ME, Krambeck AE. Comparison of newly optimized moses technology vs standard holmium:YAG for endoscopic laser enucleation of the prostate. J Endourol. 2021;35:1393–9.
Nevo A, Faraj KS, Cheney SM, Moore JP, Stern KL, Borofsky M, et al. Holmium laser enucleation of the prostate using Moses 2.0 vs non-Moses: a randomised controlled trial. BJU Int. 2021;127:553–9.
Enikeev D, Okhunov Z, Rapoport L, Taratkin M, Enikeev M, Snurnitsyna O, et al. Novel Thulium fiber laser for enucleation of prostate: a retrospective comparison with open simple Prostatectomy. J Endourol. 2019;33:16–21.
Doizi S, Germain T, Panthier F, Comperat E, Traxer O, Berthe L. Comparison of holmium:YAG and thulium fiber lasers on soft tissue: an ex vivo study. J Endourol. 2022;36:251–8.
Enikeev D, Taratkin M, Babaevskaya D, Morozov A, Petov V, Sukhanov R, et al. Randomized prospective trial of the severity of irritative symptoms after HoLEP vs ThuFLEP. World J Urol. 2022;40:2047–53.
Uleri A, Long Depaquit T, Farre A, Nicolas Cornu J, Schwartzmann I, Castellani D, et al. Thulium fiber versus holmium:Yttrium-aluminum-garnet laser for endoscopic enucleation of the prostate: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Eur Urol Focus. 2024;10:914–21.
Aybal HC, Yilmaz M, Barlas IS, Duvarci M, Tuncel A, Tunc L. Comparison of HoLEP, ThuLEP and ThuFLEP in the treatment of benign prostatic obstruction: a propensity score-matched analysis. World J Urol. 2024;42:374.
Chen YY, Hua WX, Huang YH, Shen XY, You JN, Ding X. The safety and efficacy of five surgical treatments in prostate enucleation: a network meta-analysis. BMC Urol. 2024;24:128.
Hartung FO, Kowalewski KF, von Hardenberg J, Worst TS, Kriegmair MC, Nuhn P, et al. Holmium versus thulium laser enucleation of the prostate: a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials. Eur Urol Focus. 2022;8:545–54.
Gauhar V, Nedbal C, Castellani D, Fong KY, Sofer M, Socarras MR, et al. Comparison between thulium fiber laser and high-power holmium laser for anatomic endoscopic enucleation of the prostate: a propensity score-matched analysis from the REAP Registry. Eur Urol Focus. 2024;10:182–8.
Romero Otero J, Justo Quintas J, Garcia Gomez B, Manfredi C, Sopena Sutil R, Pena Vallejo E, et al. Prospective randomized multicenter study to evaluate holmium vs. new thulium fiber laser for prostate enucleation. Minerva Urol Nephrol. 2024;76:491–8.
Castellani D, Di Rosa M, Gomez Sancha F, Rodriguez Socarras M, Mahajan A, Taif Bendigeri M, et al. Holmium laser with MOSES technology (MoLEP) vs Thulium fiber laser enucleation of the prostate (ThuFLEP) in a real-world setting. Mid-term outcomes from a multicenter propensity score analysis. World J Urol. 2023;41:2915–23.
Kosiba M, Filzmayer M, Welte MN, Hugenell L, Keller AC, Traumann MI, et al. Thulium fiber laser vs. holmium laser enucleation of the prostate: results of a prospective randomized non-inferiority trial. World J Urol. 2024;42:49.
Pyrgidis N, Mykoniatis I, Lusuardi L, Schulz GB, Sokolakis I, Stief C, et al. Enucleation of the prostate as retreatment for recurrent or residual benign prostatic obstruction: a systematic review and a meta-analysis. Prostate Cancer Prostatic Dis. 2023;26:693–701.
Enikeev D, Netsch C, Rapoport L, Gazimiev M, Laukhtina E, Snurnitsyna O, et al. Novel thulium fiber laser for endoscopic enucleation of the prostate: A prospective comparison with conventional transurethral resection of the prostate. Int J Urol. 2019;26:1138–43.
Elmansy H, Hodhod A, Kotb A, Prowse O, Shahrour W. Top-down holmium laser enucleation of the prostate: technical aspects and early outcomes. Urology. 2019;126:236.
Elmansy H, Hodhod A, Elshafei A, Noureldin YA, Mehrnoush V, Zakaria AS, et al. Comparative analysis of MOSES(TM) technology versus novel thulium fiber laser (TFL) for transurethral enucleation of the prostate: A single-institutional study. Arch Ital Urol Androl. 2022;94:180–5.
Stout TE, Borofsky M, Soubra A. A visual scale for improving communication when describing gross Hematuria. Urology. 2021;148:32–6.
Clavien PA, Barkun J, de Oliveira ML, Vauthey JN, Dindo D, Schulick RD, et al. The Clavien-Dindo classification of surgical complications: five-year experience. Ann Surg. 2009;250:187–96.
Gauhar V, Gilling P, Pirola GM, Chan VW, Lim EJ, Maggi M, et al. Does MOSES technology enhance the efficiency and outcomes of standard holmium laser enucleation of the prostate? Results of a systematic review and meta-analysis of comparative studies. Eur Urol Focus. 2022;8:1362–9.
Yilmaz M, Esser J, Kraft L, Petzold R, Sigle A, Gratzke C, et al. Experimental ex-vivo performance study comparing a novel, pulsed thulium solid-state laser, chopped thulium fibre laser, low and high-power holmium:YAG laser for endoscopic enucleation of the prostate. World J Urol. 2022;40:601–6.
Noureldin Y, Gupta A, Hodhod A, Zakaria AS, Hadi RA, Mehrnoush V, et al. Same-day trial of void and discharge following standard vs. MOSES(TM) holmium laser enucleation of the prostate: A single-center experience. Can Urol Assoc J. 2023;17:E23–E8.
Petov V, Babaevskaya D, Taratkin M, Chuvalov L, Lusuardi L, Misrai V, et al. Thulium fiber laser enucleation of the prostate: prospective study of mid- and long-term outcomes in 1328 patients. J Endourol. 2022;36:1231–6.
von Bargen MF, Glienke M, Tonyali S, Sigle A, Wilhelm K, Schoenthaler M, et al. Real-world experience with the new pulsed solid-state Thulium: YAG laser (Thulio) for endoscopic enucleation of the prostate. World J Urol. 2024;42:467.
Acknowledgements
The authors acknowledge the financial support provided by Boston Scientific in the form of a research grant for this study. The sponsor had no role in the study design, data collection, analysis, interpretation, or manuscript preparation.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Contributions
Hazem Elmansy: Conception and design, data acquisition, data analysis and interpretation, drafting the manuscript, critical revision of the manuscript for scientific and factual content, supervision. Saud Alhelal: Data acquisition, critical revision of the manuscript for scientific and factual content, quality control. Oksana Blahitko: Data acquisition, drafting the manuscript, quality control. Ryan Kelly: Conception and design, critical revision of the manuscript for scientific and factual content, quality control. Amr Hodhod: Data analysis and interpretation, drafting the manuscript, critical revision of the manuscript for scientific and factual content, statistical analysis. Ruba Abdul Hadi: Conception and design, drafting the manuscript, critical revision of the manuscript for scientific and factual content, quality control. Husain Alaradi: Data acquisition, critical revision of the manuscript for scientific and factual content, quality control. Khaled Alotaibi: Data acquisition, critical revision of the manuscript for scientific and factual content, quality control. Ahmed Mousa: Conception and design, critical revision of the manuscript for scientific and factual content, quality control. Ahmed S. Zakaria: Conception and design, critical revision of the manuscript for scientific and factual content, supervision.
Corresponding author
Ethics declarations
Competing interests
H. Elmansy is an Investigator for Urotronic Inc. (Laborie) and Zenflow Inc. He previously received honoraria and is the recipient of a research grant from Boston Scientific. The other co-authors do not have a conflict of interest to disclose.
Ethical approval
All procedures performed in studies involving human participants were in accordance with the ethical standards of the institutional and/or national research committee and with the 1964 Helsinki Declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards.
Additional information
Publisher’s note Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.
Rights and permissions
Springer Nature or its licensor (e.g. a society or other partner) holds exclusive rights to this article under a publishing agreement with the author(s) or other rightsholder(s); author self-archiving of the accepted manuscript version of this article is solely governed by the terms of such publishing agreement and applicable law.
About this article
Cite this article
Elmansy, H., Alhelal, S., Blahitko, O. et al. Thulium fiber laser versus holmium MOSESTM laser enucleation of the prostate for the treatment of benign prostatic hyperplasia: a randomized prospective clinical study. Prostate Cancer Prostatic Dis (2025). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41391-025-00996-3
Received:
Revised:
Accepted:
Published:
Version of record:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41391-025-00996-3


