One of the most experienced cryosurgeons in the world Dr. Franco Lugnani, together with his Varna colleagues, performed a surgery in five patients with urological diseases and held a workshop entitled "Cryoablation for Treatment of Benign Prostatic Hyperplasia and Prostate Cancer" at St. Marina University Hospital. Dr. Lugnani is recognized as the best specialist in the world, and presently he is an honorary president of the International Society of Cryosurgery (ISC).
The procedure used in these five patients at St. Marina University Hospital is minimally invasive, it is patient-friendly and applied only on strict indications. Cryoablation for treatment of benign prostatic hyperplasia and prostate cancer is reimbursed by NHIF.
Cryotherapy/also called Cryosurgery or Cryoablation/ is an innovative mini-invasive surgical method, based on freezing the prostate with carbon dioxide, which is transperineally administered through 2 to 6 needles. The needle insertion and the subsequent freezing of the gland are ultrasound-induced. Usually 2 cycles of freezing and thawing are performed for approximately 20 minutes' total operating time. The procedure ends up with inserting a urethral catheter, after which the patient leaves the hospital. The catheter is removed 1 to 3 weeks later.
The freezing of the prostate leads to the necrosis of prostate cells. The method can be applied primarily in the prostate carcinoma at an early stage, or secondary, in local recurrence after radiotherapy. It is also used in benign prostatic hyperplasia.
