Cryotherapy is the freezing of the prostate gland by percutaneous placement (through the skin) of several Cryo-probe needles inside the prostate, guided by a rectal ultrasound and computer software. These Cryo-probes will deliver Argon gas producing a Cryo-biological phenomenon that will form micro-crystals of ice inside the prostatic cells.  The ice formation will break the nucleus and cell membranes, destroying the cancer and non- cancer cells, and will freeze to death the prostate gland to the temperature of minus 20-40 degrees Centigrade in a matter of minutes, regardless of the Gleason score.  In comparison, external radiation takes more than one and a half years to destroy high Gleason's score cancer.

Thin temperature probes, the blue-colored probes shown in the picture below, are also placed around the prostate to monitor the freezing temperatures by computer to protect neighboring organs.

During this procedure, the canal of the urethra that brings the urine from the bladder to the penis is protected during the freezing process by a warm special catheter.

All of the changes of the prostate, second to second, can be seen live on the ultrasound screen. The formation of ice and all the cryo-biological phenomenon will change the color of the prostate on the screen to completely black in 8 to 10 minutes, indicating ice formation. Once this is achieved, the prostate is defrosted in a few minutes by passage of Helium gas through the same Cryo-probes. A second cycle of freezing and defrosting is performed.  At the end of the procedure, the Cryo-probes and temperature probes are removed.