Several complications could develop from surgery for benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH). Which complication occurs depends on the type of surgery you have. Complications include:

• A complete inability to urinate (acute urinary retention). Men who have this complication will need to have a urinary catheter until it gets better.
• A risk of complications related to the anesthesia and surgery and a small risk of death (less than 1 in 1,000).
• A strong urge to urinate (overactive bladder), which can also cause leaking of urine (urge incontinence).
• Bleeding. The bleeding is sometimes severe enough that the man needs a blood transfusion.
• Erection problems. Ask your doctor how many of his or her patients had this problem after surgery.
• Retrograde ejaculation, in which semen flows backward into the bladder instead of out of the penis. While not harmful, this may make it more difficult to father children.
• Scar tissue in the urethra that can build up and block urine flow. If that happens, the man may need a second surgery to fix it.
• Urinary incontinence. Most men with this problem have only occasional dribbling.