Prostate Cancer Seed Implant Therapy
How is the Procedure Performed?
The prostate cancer seed implant is performed as a same day procedure. It lasts about 45 minutes to one hour and is done in the operating room under spinal or general anesthesia.
The physician will place radioactive seeds, about the size of a grain of rice, into the prostate gland. The seeds are placed using thin needles passed into the prostate gland through the skin. The needles are viewed on an ultrasound machine to accurately guide their final position. These seeds give low-energy X-rays that are capable of destroying the cancer in the prostate.
Before the implant procedure, the radiation oncologist will determine the number of seeds needed to treat the cancer and exactly where they should be placed using a prostate ultrasound scan and VariSeed computer technology.
Within three to six weeks following the procedure, a CAT scan is performed to determine that the prostate gland is receiving the proper amount of radiation throughout the entire gland.
For more information, contact your physician. For a physician referral, call 800-443-4605.
