Cryosurgical ablation of the prostate.

A new surgical procedure, cryosurgical ablation of the prostate, offers patients with organ-confined prostate cancer another treatment option. The advantages of this cryosurgical technique are complete ablation of prostatic cancers without radical prostatectomy procedures, less blood loss, decreased hospital stays, reduced health care costs, and minimal associated morbidity. Some possible complications of cryosurgical ablation of the prostate procedures include incontinence, impotence, rectal freezing from inadequate monitoring of the freezing process, urethrocutaneous and urethrorectal fistula formations, and urethral tissue sloughing. The intraoperative nurse's prime responsibility is to monitor the subfreezing temperatures of the cryoprobes. Postoperatively, patients have only a few perineal incisions covered with sterile dressings and a suprapubic catheter. Most patients have minimal discomfort that is managed easily with opiate analgesics.