Methods are provided for treating prostate glands or other targeted soft tissue using a solid-state laser (102). The laser can be operated to generate a pulsed output beam having pulse durations of between 0.1 and 500 milliseconds. The output beam is delivered to the targeted tissue (104) through an optical fiber (106), preferably terminating in a side-firing probe (140). By operating the laser in a long-duration pulse mode, charring of the targeted tissue (104) is initiated quickly, thereby increasing ablation rates and reducing overall procedure time.
