Prostatitis > Prostatic abscess
Occasionally prostatitis with a bacterial cause can lead to the formation of an abscess within the prostate itself. If this is the case, your doctor may need to take a sample of fluid from the abscess and will do so using ultrasound for guidance. The sample can then be checked to see what type of bacteria has caused the infection, so that appropriate antibiotics can be given.
Abscesses sometimes have to be drained, which involves passing an instrument up through the penis under anaesthetic, making a small cut through to the abscess and then ‘nicking’ the abscess to allow pus to drain out. A course of antibiotics and a period of catheterization are also often necessary as passing urine can difficult or impossible, because of the associated swelling.