CaRi-heart technology
Revolutionary new technology to assess the risk of a serious heart condition or heart attack – many years before anything happens.
Cryotherapy for prostate cancer
A TYPE OF FOCAL THERAPY FOR PROSTATE CANCER
If you've been diagnosed with prostate cancer, cryotherapy is an effective alternative option to radiation and surgery
What is cryotherapy?
Cryotherapy treats prostate cancer and is an alternative treatment to both radiation and surgery. It's a minimally invasive procedure and involves using nitrogen gas to freeze prostate tissue and kill cancer cells. The treatment is most effective for early-stage prostate cancer.
Our Cryotherapy for prostate cancer locations
London Bridge Hospital
27 Tooley Street SE1 2PR London
The Princess Grace Hospital
42-52 Nottingham Place W1U 5NY London
The Shard Outpatients
The Shard, 32 St Thomas Street SE1 9BS London
Patient stories
Yvette's story: From back pain to hip replacement surgery
Yvette (54) a journalist from Kent, started experiencing pain in her hip seven years ago in 2015. An ex-national gymnast who had been incredibly active and flexible her whole life, Yvette felt concerned about the growing discomfort impacting her quality of life, and so sought help from her GP.
A new hip and straight back into the spin of things
David’s gym video shows him repeatedly pushing up to 100kg on a single leg press – not particularly unusual for this keen cyclist, former competitive squash player and all-round fitness enthusiast. What is unusual is that 52-year-old David had hip surgery just 12 weeks earlier.
Michael's MAKO hip surgery to treat his arthritis
73 year-old Michael, an avid walker and charity worker, was diagnosed with arthritis in January 2021. After facing long waiting times and increasing pain that was becoming more frequent, he started to look elsewhere for treatment.
This content is intended for general information only and does not replace the need for personal advice from a qualified health professional.
Need to know
During the procedure, a trans-rectal ultrasound (TRUS) probe is passed into the rectum. This helps guide the urologist when they insert a number of thin metal rods through the perineum into the prostate.
A catheter is then inserted into the urethra and filled with warming fluid. Liquid nitrogen is released into the rods and this serves to freeze the isolated areas of tissue that are in contact with the metal, killing the cancerous cells. The urethra is protected from the cold by the warming fluid circulating through the catheter.
Your consultant will explain the procedure to you and answer any questions you may have. Because you'll be having general anaesthetic, they'll let you know how long you should avoid eating and drinking before surgery.
Like all procedures, there may be some risks and side effects involved. Your consultant will explain these to you.
Cryotherapy usually requires an inpatient stay of up to two days but there is very little blood loss and recovery time is only up to two weeks. The side effects include short-term urinary problems and possible injury to the rectum.
Cyrotherapy seems to have a higher success rate than any form of radiotherapy but if all of the cancer cells are not killed during the first treatment then the procedure will need to be repeated.