Rochester, MN - Botox has a reputation for erasing the years by smoothing away wrinkles on your face.

But it has other uses in the medical world too.

Now doctors in Southern Minnesota are using it to treat enlarged prostates.

As men age they're at risk for developing an enlarged prostate.

It's called Benign Prostatic Hyperplasia or BPH.

Mayo Clinic doctors are studying Botox as a treatment option.

Using ultrasound guidance, doctors inject the Botox into the part of the prostate that is overgrown and squeezing the urethra.

The medicine causes those tissues to relax, allowing urine to flow more normally.

lance mynderse, m.d./mayo cinic urologist: "there's very good preliminary evidence that these drugs can not only relax the musculature much like some of the medicines do, but additionally, it may actually atrophy or reduce the size of the prostate," said Mayo Clinic Urologist, Lance Mynderse, M.D.

Doctors say not all men with BPH will benefit from Botox.

But doctor mynderse hopes Botox will prove to be ome more minimally invasive option for many men.

For more on this go to www.mayoclinic.org.