St. Luke’s Urologist Recognized for Treatment of Enlarged Prostate Restricting Urination

Zachariah Goldsmith, MD, of St. Luke’s Center for Urology, has been designated as a UroLift® Centers of Excellence Physician. The designation recognizes that Dr. Goldsmith has achieved a high level of training and experience with the UroLift® System and has demonstrated a commitment to provide exemplary care for men suffering from symptoms associated with Benign Prostatic Hyperplasia (BPH).

Zachariah Goldsmith, MD

BPH is caused when a man’s prostate glands enlarge to the point that they restrict urine flow. This often occurs as men grow older with the condition affecting as many as 70 percent of men over the age of 60 in the United States. Signs and symptoms include difficulty starting urination, a weak urine flow or one that stops and starts, dribbling, and trouble emptying the bladder. In addition to urinary problems, BPH often interrupts sleep and can affect productivity and quality of life.

The UroLift System is a revolutionary minimally invasive treatment that uses small implants to create a passage through the prostate, restoring urine flow. The procedure typically takes less than an hour and can offer multiple benefits for men with enlarged prostate. These include no cutting, heating, or removal of tissue; minimal downtime; no compromise of sexual function; and no need for continued medications.

“I am proud that St. Luke’s Center for Urology is a national leader offering this breakthrough treatment option,” Dr. Goldsmith. “I have witnessed the positive effect it has had on the quality of life for so many of my patients.”

Five-year data from a randomized study shows the UroLift System offers not only rapid improvement, but also durable relief for patients with BPH. After five years, patients treated with the UroLift System continue to experience symptom relief with minimal side effects, with few patients requiring an additional procedure for relief.

Dr. Goldsmith, who joined St. Luke’s Center for Urology in 2015, sees patients and performs surgery at St. Luke’s Anderson Campus and St. Luke’s Monroe Campus. He serves as Chief of Surgery at St. Luke’s Anderson Campus and as Medical Director of the Ambulatory Surgery Center. He completed his urologic training at Duke University in Durham, North Carolina and completed a research fellowship in endourology (minimally invasive surgery and surgery for kidney stones). Prior to that, he completed a dual degree program at Temple University in Philadelphia, earning a doctorate degree in molecular biology and cancer research, in addition to his medical degree. Dr. Goldsmith has training in advance robotic surgery, molecular biology of cancer, patient safety, and quality improvement. His doctoral research was funded by the American Medical Association and the Pennsylvania Department of Health.

About the UroLift System

NeoTract’s FDA-cleared UroLift System is a novel, minimally invasive technology for treating lower urinary tract symptoms due to benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH). The UroLift permanent implants, delivered during a minimally invasive transurethral outpatient procedure, relieve prostate obstruction and open the urethra directly without cutting, heating, or removing prostate tissue. Clinical data from a pivotal 206-patient randomized controlled study showed that patients with enlarged prostate receiving UroLift implants reported rapid and durable symptomatic and urinary flow rate improvement without compromising sexual function. Patients also experienced a significant improvement in quality of life. The UroLift System is available in the U.S., Europe, Australia, Canada, Mexico and South Korea. Learn more at http://www.UroLift.com.

About St. Luke’s 

Founded in 1872, St. Luke’s University Health Network (SLUHN) is a fully integrated, regional, non-profit network of more than 15,000 employees providing services at 10 hospitals and over 320 outpatient sites.  With annual net revenue greater than $2 billion, the Network’s service area includes 10 counties: Lehigh, Northampton, Berks, Bucks, Carbon, Montgomery, Monroe and Schuylkill counties in Pennsylvania and Warren and Hunterdon counties in New Jersey.  Dedicated to advancing medical education, St. Luke’s is the preeminent teaching hospital in central-eastern Pennsylvania.  In partnership with Temple University, St. Luke’s created the Lehigh Valley’s first and only regional medical school campus.  It also operates the nation’s longest continuously operating School of Nursing, established in 1884, and 28 fully accredited graduate medical educational programs with 226 residents and fellows.  St. Luke’s is the only Lehigh Valley-based health care system with Medicare’s five- and four-star ratings (the highest) for quality, efficiency and patient satisfaction.  St. Luke’s is both a Leapfrog Group and Healthgrades Top Hospital and a Newsweek World’s Best Hospital.  In 2019, three of IBM Watson Health’s 100 Top Hospitals were St. Luke’s hospitals.  St. Luke’s University Hospital has earned the 100 Top Major Teaching Hospital designation from IBM Watson Health seven times total and five years in a row. St. Luke’s has also been cited by IBM Watson Health as a 50 Top Cardiovascular Program.  Utilizing the Epic electronic medical record (EMR) system for both inpatient and outpatient services, the Network is a multi-year recipient of the Most Wired award recognizing the breadth of the SLUHN’s information technology applications such as telehealth, online scheduling and online pricing information.  St. Luke’s is also recognized as one of the state’s lowest cost providers.