Steve Howlett is 66 years young. He has been active his whole life and has always made his health a priority.
Now he is better than ever, thanks to a procedure that treated his enlarged prostate – also known as benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH). For a decade, he lived with worsening BPH symptoms that negatively impacted his quality of life – an urgent need to urinate during the day, and increased urination at night.
“I had to pee three times a night, and it was just annoying,” he said. “I was also the worst person to go on a road trip with.”
On May 8, 2025, Howlett had holmium laser enucleation of the prostate (HoLEP) – a minimally invasive surgery that targets and removes the enlarged tissues of the prostate to relieve pressure and eliminate or significantly reduce symptoms.
Surgery and recovery went extremely well for Howlett. Now, he hopes to help other men with BPH get the help they need. He didn’t know that there were treatment options available, and wants to get the word out.
"I’m certain I’m not the only one who didn’t know there are ways to fix my enlarged prostate"
For the past decade, Howlett expressed his concerns about his symptoms to his doctor, especially as things got progressively worse. Unfortunately, he got no answers. The only feedback he received was that an enlarged prostate is normal for men his age.
“At the time, it felt like I was being told that I would just have to live with these annoying symptoms that were really disrupting my life,” he said. “Which is what I did, for ten years.”
Howlett decided to do his own research and learned that U of U Health offers several treatment options for BPH.
“Finding the U of U Health website gave me enough encouragement to make a phone call,” said Howlett. “Prior to that, frankly, no one had given me any indication that I could actually get some relief.”
When Howlett called U of U Health to make an appointment, he was cautiously optimistic, half expecting a similar response to the one his doctor had given him for the past several years.
While he already knew his prostate was enlarged, his previous doctor had never made any recommendations on exploring options to get it fixed. Because of that, he assumed it wasn’t enlarged enough to justify having anything done.
A scan showed that Howlett’s prostate was double in size. While that doesn’t make for an extreme case, it did that he qualified for several surgical interventions to fix his issue.
“That was the biggest surprise to me, to realize that I was a candidate,” he said. “I was quite amazed right then because I was totally expecting the doctor to roll his eyes at me and ask me why I was there. That’s how bad my information was on it, and how badly I misunderstood things.”
After his initial appointment, Howlett was referred to Kelli Gross, MD to discuss which procedure would be the best option.
Howlett was immediately impressed.
“Dr. Gross is like the perfect doctor. She just exudes competence in what she’s doing.”
Gross is a fellowship-trained urologist specializing in Male Infertility and Men’s Health. She performs various procedures to fix BPH, including holmium laser enucleation of the prostate (HoLEP). She is one of the few surgeons in the Intermountain West performing this procedure.
“Every patient is different,” said Gross. “There are several options and less invasive procedures we do in the clinic, and we make sure each patient is getting the best intervention for their specific situation.”
For Howlett, HoLEP was the best option. While there was a little bit of discomfort for the few days following surgery, the lack of pain was a pleasant surprise for Howlett.
“I’m only one person, but for me the recovery was a nothing burger,” he said. “There was a little bit of pain, but not enough for me to take any medication to manage it.”
While patients tend to have incontinence in the weeks following surgery, Howlett was feeling great within the week of his procedure. His quality of life has greatly improved since then.
“Before surgery, I felt like I had to go to the bathroom all the time,” he said. “My bathroom sessions were numerous, but small. You think you’re done, but then you’re back in an hour. It’s really stupid.”
Today, his urgency to use the bathroom is back to normal. He and his wife recently went to a play, and at intermission he was surprised that he didn’t have to go to the bathroom.
“I remember thinking ‘well this is weird, but I guess I’ll just go for the heck of it"
While the majority of men will encounter prostate issues as they age, it’s not something that patients have to live with.
“It’s pretty typical for people to think this is just a natural part of aging, and something that can’t be fixed,” said Gross. “People who don’t have symptoms don’t need surgery, but we get a lot of people like Steve who are years and years into it.”
Gross’ advice is this: if there are symptoms, it’s a good idea to get things checked out.
“If there are symptoms then there’s something we can do to help,” she said. “Getting evaluated earlier is better, but definitely by the time things are bothersome. There’s no need to wait if your quality of life is impacted by things.”
Howlett wants other men to be aware of the treatment options, so they don’t live with aggravating symptoms for years like he did.
“Here’s the problem – and it really is a problem,” he said. “Before I came to U of U Health, I had never heard any of my general practitioners ever say that if this ever gets to be a problem, you don’t have to live like this.”
While he’s grateful for the exceptional care he received, he hopes more men are made aware of the amazing care options that are available.
“There are so many men who would benefit immediately, just like I did,” he said.