MOST men would consult a doctor if they were suffering from twisted testicle or constant erection but tend to ignore the most common ailment affecting the male sex organ - an enlarged prostate which causes problems with urination.
Most men are either too embarrassed to see a doctor or simply assume it is part and parcel of growing old. They do not realise it can be treated.
Men in Hong Kong are especially slack in consulting a doctor, according to the Prince of Wales Hospital's Dr Peter S F Chan. They often wait until they are bursting - literally - when they cannot urinate at all before seeking emergency treatment.
Dr Chan sees at least 10 such men a week. By this stage, they would have been suffering needlessly, probably for many years, and surgery is the only option.
An enlarged prostate - benign prostate hypertrophy in medical jargon (BPH for short) - occurs, in the West at least, in some 25 per cent of men in their 40s; 50 per cent of men over 50; and 90 per cent of men in their 70s and 80s. Asians seem to suffer less - only about 20 per cent of Asian men over 60 show symptoms.
While the exact origin of BPH is not known, it is generally agreed that it is related to male hormones - it does not develop in men castrated before the age of 40.
BPH is a non-cancerous growth of the prostate gland, which is part of the male reproductive system. As the prostate enlarges, the channel through which urine passes becomes narrower, interfering with normal urine flow.