Cryotherapy for Prostate Cancer

Cryotherapy may need a one-day stay in the hospital. It may also be done as an outpatient procedure. This means you go home after it’s done. The procedure may vary depending on your condition and your healthcare provider’s practices.

You will be asked to remove any jewelry or other objects that might get in the way during procedure.

You will be asked to remove your clothing and will be given a gown to wear.

You will be asked to empty your bladder.

An IV (intravenous) line will be put in your arm or hand.

The healthcare provider may choose regional anesthesia or general anesthesia. You will also get medicine to help you relax and pain medicines.

If you get general anesthesia, a breathing tube may be put through your throat into your lungs, and you will be connected to a ventilator. This will breathe for you during the procedure.

The anesthesiologist will watch your heart rate, blood pressure, breathing, and blood oxygen level during the procedure.

You will be placed on your back on the operating table with your legs up in stirrups.

The healthcare provider will put a soft, flexible catheter through your penis and into your bladder to drain urine. The catheter will be filled with warm salt (saline) solution. It will help keep urine draining even if the prostate gland swells after the treatment. The catheter will also be used to keep the warm saline moving through the urethra to protect it from the cold temperatures used during the procedure.

A transrectal ultrasound (TRUS) probe will be put into your rectum so that the prostate and nearby tissues can be seen on a computer screen.

The healthcare provider will insert the needles (cryoprobes) into the preselected areas between the scrotum and anus. Gas will be put into the needles to freeze the nearby prostate tissue. The frozen area will stay frozen for only a few minutes. Then it will be thawed by putting helium through the needles. This cycle may be repeated.

The surgeon will use the ultrasound images to watch the freezing process. This is to be sure only the cancer is being treated.

The needles and TRUS probe will be removed, and the urinary catheter will be left in your bladder.

If used, the breathing tube will be taken out and you will breathe on your own.

A sterile bandage (dressing) will be put on the area.