With laser light and advanced MR imaging we can accurately destroy small tumors. It is performed in an outpatient setting, so patients walk in in the morning and walk out in the afternoon.
What is Focal Laser Ablation?
With laser light and advanced MR imaging we can accurately destroy small tumors. It is performed in an outpatient setting, so patients walk in in the morning and walk out in the afternoon.
For which patients?
Patients with localized, intermediate grade prostate cancer and a small, well demarcated tumor on the MRI are eligible for FLA
What to expect?
Our aim is to treat the tumor with a safety margin and to avoid critical structures to preserve quality of life. Focal laser ablation is performed under local anesthesia in an outpatient setting.
A laser fiber is transrectally or transperineally inserted in the tumor under MR image guidance. One ablation takes 1.5 – 2 minutes and 5-7 ablations need to be done to treat the complete tumor. Every ablation is monitored in real-time with MR temperature mapping. After the treatment contrast-enhanced MR images are acquired to check whether the whole tumor is destroyed.
Since the procedure is performed in an outpatient setting, you can home after the procedure.