The Procedure
The experience factor
First, you should know that the physicians at RCOG have performed ProstRcision® on more than 12,000 men in over 30 years. Furthermore, any doctor performing ProstRcision® at Radiotherapy Clinics of Georgia (RCOG) has had one full year of training for this procedure. In comparison, other doctors who perform seed implants typically have had only two days of training.
An outpatient procedure
Even with the delicate nature of implanting seeds into the prostate, the procedure itself doesn’t take very long– usually about 45 minutes. And the recovery period is quite short. Men typically go home within hours and often return to work the next day, or any of their other daily activities.
How the seed implant is done
Performed by a urologist and a radiation oncologist, the seed implant is an outpatient procedure that lasts approximately 45 minutes. Patients are given general anesthesia. 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 seeds are injected into the prostate. The process is repeated until all of the seeds have been injected. The number of seeds needed depends on the size and shape of the prostate, as well as the severity of the cancer. The average number is 74 seeds, 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 okay, the patient is sent to the recovery room where he is awakened.
Stopping cancer spread
Since cancer cell leakage cannot be detected prior to completing any treatment, RCOG uses follow-up linear accelerator irradiation to make sure we get rid of the cancer completely. This follow-up treatment begins 21 days after the seed implant and is delivered 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 RCOG’s Q&A section.
