medical

I have dificulty emptying my bladder or teling when it is full. I am 80 years old and otherwise in good helth.
My doctor sujest a LASER work in the uretra, I am interested in the cause of this problem.

[Craig Brooker]

Thanks for using the forum. I am happy to address your questions, and my answer will be based on the information you provided here. Please make sure you recognize that this forum is for educational purposes only, and it does not substitute for a formal office visit with your doctor.

There are many potential causes of difficulty emptying your bladder and difficulty telling when it's full.  While your question is probably best answered by a Urologist, I'll give you the basic information even an Neurologist would know.  

I'm presuming you're male and in men of your age group, obstructive symptoms (e.g. difficulty emptying as you describe, dribbling, frequently having to return to the bathroom with little output, difficult starting and stopping) are most commonly caused by Benign Prostatic Hyperplasia/Hypertrophy (BPH) which is simply increasing of the size of a gland just below your bladder.  BPH, as the name suggests, is "benign" or not a major problem other than the symptoms I describe above.  These symptoms can often be improved from a number of different types of procedures used to prevent the prostate gland from blocking urine flow.  It is possible the swelling of the prostate is not "benign" and could represent prostate cancer.  While the word "cancer" always sounds bad, prostate cancer first discovered in someone your age usually has a long course and the vast majority eventually die from disease processes NOT related to the prostate cancer itself.  So accordingly very very few, if any, urologists will do a work up for prostate cancer in someone your age.  So despite the fact I felt obligated to mention the word "cancer," I would try to not let this bother you as it's likely irrelevant in terms of health going forward even if in the less likely situation of cancer and not the far more likely BPH.