|
|
|
 |
|
| Detailed Guide: Prostate Cancer |
Cryosurgery |
|
Cryosurgery (also called cryotherapy or cryoablation) is sometimes used to treat localized prostate cancer by freezing the cells with a metal probe. Warm saltwater is circulated through a catheter in your urethra to keep it from freezing. The probe is placed through a skin incision located between your anus and scrotum and guided into the prostate using transrectal ultrasound. Spinal, epidural, or general anesthesia is used during the procedure.
The appearance of prostate tissue in ultrasound images changes when it is frozen. To be sure enough prostate tissue is destroyed without too much damage to nearby tissues, the surgeon carefully watches these images during the procedure. A suprapubic catheter is placed through a skin incision on the abdomen into the bladder so that if the prostate swells (which usually occurs), it won't block the passage of urine. The catheter is removed 1 to 2 weeks later. After the procedure, there will be some bruising and soreness of the area where the probe was inserted. You will likely stay in the hospital for 1 or 2 days.
Cryosurgery is less invasive than radical prostatectomy, so there is less blood loss, a shorter hospital stay, shorter recovery period, and less pain than radical surgery. But compared with surgery or radiation therapy, doctors know much less about the long-term effectiveness of cryosurgery. Current techniques using ultrasound guidance and precise temperature monitoring have only been available for a few years. Outcomes of long-term (10- to 15-year) follow-up must still be collected and analyzed. Because of this, most doctors consider cryotherapy to still be experimental.
|
|
|
|
|
