YORK, Pa. — WellSpan Health is the only hospital system in the state offering what's being called a groundbreaking treatment for prostate cancer.
Prostate cancer is extremely common. In fact, prostate cancer occurs in one out of every eight men.
TULSA-PRO is a minimally invasive procedure which uses MRI imaging and directional ultrasound to precisely get rid of cancerous prostate tissue without damaging surrounding nerves.
Dr. Edward Steiner is director of the advanced prostate care center at WellSpan York Hospital--the only TULSA center in Pennsylvania, and one of only two dozen in the country.
"It's robotic, it's electronic, and those are magic words because the more robotic your procedure is, the more precise it can be," Dr. Steiner said.
That's important because it greatly lowers the chance of a patient experiencing life-altering side effects.
"Erectile functions depend upon these nerves and that's very important for men, and procedures available currently are unable to spare that bundle. We also spare the muscle that controls bladder function, which is very critical with prostate cancer because therapies often cause incontinence at a reasonably high rate," he said.
That's the reason people have been coming from all over to York County for the out-patient procedure. It typically is done in under four hours, and the patient gets to return home the same day.
Dr. Steiner said the treatment is designed for men with low and intermediate-risk prostate cancer of a certain size that has not spread beyond the prostate.
For more information on TULSA-PRO at WellSpan Health York Hospital, click here.