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| Description |
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| Cryoablation at JPC |
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| CRYOABLATION FOR TREATMENT OF PROSTATE CANCER |
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| Men with prostate cancer may wish to consider cryoablation of the prostate gland as definitive curative treatment of their disease. This state-of-the art technology is readily available to men as an alternative to radiation therapy or to surgical removal of the prostate gland. McIver physicians have treated over 300 men with cryoablation over the past 12 years at St. Vincent’s Medical Center in Jacksonville, FL. Our experience suggests a very low complication rate and a cure rate which is equal to radiation therapy. Initially our procedures were done with the Cryomedical Science liquid nitrogen technology but therapy is now delivered with the Galil Argon gas system. In early 2007 we obtained Galil’s new Precise system which has now supplanted the Galil SeedNet system that we utilized for the past 10 years. The Precise system represents a new era of minimally invasive cryotherapy, with streamlining of the computer controlled process and IceVue planning software for preoperative simulation of the procedure to ensure accurate results. |
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| The cryoablation process for prostate cancer is done in the hospital but on an outpatient basis. The candidate must be suitable for a 90 minute procedure under general anesthesia. The actual duration is dependent on the size of the gland. With the Precise system up to 25 cryoprobes can be utilized, but most prostates do not require more than 12 to 15 probes. Each probe is an ultra-thin needle of 1.4 mm diameter, placed through the perineum into the prostate gland with ultrasound guidance. Compressed Argon gas is delivered through the probe, generating a computer controlled ice ball which is visualized and monitored with ultrasound. Thermocouples placed into the gland and surrounding areas assure that appropriate lethal temperatures are achieved in the prostate and that adjacent tissues are not damaged by the freeze. A closed circuit warming catheter protects the urethra from damage as water warmed to 43 degrees Centigrade is circulated through the catheter. |
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| Pain from the cryoablation procedure is minimal. Each patient has a suprapubic catheter placed while under anesthesia since the prostate gland swells temporarily with the lethal freeze. After several days the catheter can be clamped and urination initiated through the urethra. The suprapubic catheter is generally removed at the first post operative office visit, 7 to 10 days after the procedure. Most patients can resume customary activity in 2 weeks. |
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| In addition to utilizing cryoablation for the initial treatment of prostate cancer, it is frequently used as curative treatment for individuals who have residual cancer after failure of radiation therapy. |
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