To have optimal results from your prostate seed implant, it is essential that all areas of the prostate are covered with seeds, and that no sensitive areas outside the prostate are implanted. Using the Real-Time Technique, there is minimal risk of placement of needles or seeds too close to the bladder, rectum, urethra or nerves. Any motion of the prostate or change in its size or shape during the procedure can be immediately taken into account, ensuring perfect seed placement. Because seeds are precisely placed in the prostate, the risk of seeds migrating to other parts of the body is less than 1%.

The Real-Time Technique differs greatly from the much older “pre-planned or Seattle technique.” The pre-plan technique involves mapping out the prostate a few weeks in advance by ultrasound. Then, when the patient goes to the operating room, the prior ultrasound is used to determine where to place the needles and seeds. The pre-plan technique unfortunately does NOT take into account any differences in the size, shape, or position of the prostate at the actual time of surgery. It has been our experience that the prostate can be very different at the time of surgery. Subtle changes in leg position, the degree of bladder filling, the use of anesthesia, and the shape of your prostate after the needles are inserted can have profound effects, making a pre-plan virtually useless.

In contrast, using powerful computers and experience based on thousands of previous cases, the Real-Time Technique takes all of the above possible changes into effect. All of the needles and seeds are placed based on how the prostate looks at the time of the procedure, not how it looked weeks before. The doses of radiation to the various areas are calculated live, in real-time.

Intra-operative computer planning

Our physicians have helped pioneer the use of powerful computers during the implant procedure to instantly calculate the dose of radiation received by the prostate and surrounding areas. The computer can obtain and analyze live images of the prostate gland throughout the implant procedure to further ensure optimal seed distribution and placement. This is a major improvement over older techniques where the amount of radiation received by the prostate could not be determined until after all the seeds were implanted.

Currently, no other group in Florida is using this technique.