Cryosurgery
is another term to describe cryotherapy which can be
used to treat prostate cancer. Cryosurgery uses freezing
argon gas circulated through ultrathin needles to grow
ice balls on the prostate gland and destroy the disease.
Prostate cryosurgery is minimally invasive; surgeons
treat the prostate by inserting needles percutaneously
through the perineum. Because of radioresistant prostate
cancers, the idea of using subzero temperatures has
been around since the mid twentieth century. Only recently,
however, has the imaging and equipment technology evolved
to the point where prostate cryosurgery is becoming
a mainstream prostate cancer treatment. Because prostate
cryosurgery is so new, the results for long-term survival
rates are limited but promising.
|
