The use of lasers to carry out resection of the prostate gland is an ever-evolving field which has seen several different modalities of laser light used with varying success. This review looks at what makes the traditional transurethral resection of prostate the gold standard and provides the evidence on the evolution of the laser prostatectomy in trying to usurp it as the favored procedure for symptomatic benign prostatic hyperplasia. In particular, we show how the latest laser technology in the form of the Greenlight laser is challenging not only other lasers such as the holmium laser, but may form a strong contender to replace the transurethral resection of prostate.