What are the Short Term Effects after the Treatment? Return to normal food is possible the evening of the treatment day, and the urinary catheter is generally removed 3 or 4 days after the session. The discharge from hospital usually takes place the day after the urinary catheter removal, and after the verification of the good functioning of the bladder by post-void ultrasound imaging.

A prophylactic medication may be prescribed for the following weeks to prevent the occurrence of a urinary infection. PSA level measurements and urine analysis are performed regularly. If a urinary infection is detected, your general practitioner will prescribe an antibiotic.

During this period, you might feel some discomfort: mild bleeding in the beginning of micturition, frequent and sometimes urgent micturition, urine leakage at exertion, elimination of necrotic debris. Infections with fever are rare but possible, if the infection spreads you should contact your physician immediately for an antibiotic treatment.

Follow-up Visits after the Treatment

Three to six months after the treatment, control biopsies are performed under local anesthesia: if they are negative, a regular checking of PSA every three months is sufficient. If a residual cancerous zone is detected (about 10% of the cases), a second Ablatherm session or another treatment can be conducted 6 months after the initial session. If the biopsies are negative but the PSA rises, a complementary external radiotherapy may be prescribed as the PSA level indicates that the stage of the tumor was underestimated: the cancer is already at regional stage.