The Procedure
The experience factor.
First, you should know that we have performed ProstRcision® on more than 11,000 men. Furthermore, any doctor performing ProstRcison here at Radiotherapy Clinics of Georgia (RCOG) has had one full year of training for this procedure: whereas many doctors who perform seed implants only have two days of training.
A short procedure.
Even with the delicate nature of implanting the seeds into the prostate, the procedure doesn’t take very long—only about 45 minutes. And the recovery period is quite short. Men usually go home within hours and often return to work, or any of their daily activities, the next day.
How it’s done.
Performed by a urologist and a radiation oncologist, the seed implant takes place in an operating room and lasts approximately 45 minutes. Patients are under general anesthesia during the operation. To get the seeds in place, long hollow needles are inserted through the perineum (the area between the testicles and the rectum) and into the prostate.
Next, a seed implant gun is attached to a needle and from one to 10 seeds are injected into the prostate. The process is repeated until all of the seeds have been injected. The number of seeds needed depends of the size and shape of the prostate, as well as the severity of the cancer. The average number is 74, but we have implanted as few as 45 and as many as 230.
After all the seeds have been injected, the urologist performs a cystoscopic exam, which is the insertion of a tube through the urethra and into the prostate and bladder to check on these organs. Once the urologist sees that everything is OK, the patient is awakened.
Stopping cancer spread.
Since cancer cell leakage cannot be detected prior to completing treatment, we use follow-up linear accelerator radiation to make sure we get rid of the cancer completely. This follow-up treatment begins 21 days after the seed implant and is given slowly over a six to seven week period. Treatment is similar to getting a pelvic X-ray each day and lasts approximately 10 minutes. Patients can resume normal daily activities immediately after each treatment.
For an in-depth look at ProstRcision, visit our Q&A section.
