Prostate Biopsies
PROSTATE BIOPSY
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More Precise. Less Invasive Prostate Biopsy
More Precise. Less Invasive Prostate Biopsy
Targeted fusion biopsy uses MRI and ultrasound to precisely perform prostate biopsy. Transperineal biopsy avoids needles through the rectum, leaving patients with less risk of infection.
Why should you choose The Urology Place?
- We were the first to start fusion biopsy in San Antonio. We are the only practice performing transperineal prostate biopsy in South Texas.
- We do biopsies comfortably in the office, avoiding the unnecessary increase in costs that come with routinely doing biopsies in the surgery center or hospital.
- Christopher Garcia N.P. and Sho Grant PA-C coordinate help run the Urology Fusion Biopsy Program
- Mike Nevarez is an urology ultrasound technician with over 20 years of experience in prostate ultrasound and biopsies. He has completed thousands of prostate ultrasounds.
Current methods of prostate cancer screening, such as prostate-specific antigen (PSA) tests and digital rectal exams (DRE) can lead to a recommendation for a prostate biopsy. Urologists rely on ultrasound during the biopsy to give us an image of the prostate. This image is good enough to target systematic biopsies of the prostate. In most cases, however, the ultrasound is not able to actually distinguish cancer inside the prostate. So, sometimes cancer will be missed during these systematic biopsies.
Prostate biopsy is the gold standard method for detection. A doctor would never offer treatment without a tissue diagnosis showing actual prostate cancer. It would be great to have a much better image of the prostate, which could actually identify areas suspicious for prostate cancer.
Transperineal Biopsy
Dr. Naveen Kella discusses a NEW approach to detecting cancerous tissues
During the work-up of prostate cancer, a transrectal prostate biopsy poses a potential risk of infection. The Urology Place has invested in new ultrasound equipment and training to migrate to a transperineal approach. We are the first in Texas to offer in office, transperineal biopsy of the prostate.
With the transperineal approach, there is a near-zero risk of serious infection.
MRI detection
3T MRI is a powerful imaging tool available at a few locations in San Antonio. When read by an experienced radiologist, the prostate and lesion segmentation data can be used to identify very suspicious areas in the prostate. These areas are given “PI-RADS” scores. The scoring system goes from 1 to 5, where 5 is very suspicious for an aggressive prostate cancer.
Fusion Biopsy at The Urology Place
With UroNav, we are able to perform your prostate biopsy with the MRI images “fused” to the ultrasound images. The software identifies areas of the lesion, which can be biopsied. We still perform the procedure in the office. Advantages to you, the patient, are the following:
Less anxiety over what to do over a negative biopsy. If your biopsy is negative with UroNav, we can be confident that you do not have worrisome cancer.
Fewer numbers of biopsies. In some cases, we will just take the targets on the MRI fusion only. This means fewer biopsies for you.
More confidence during treatment. If you need to progress to treatment to try to cure cancer, Dr. Kella feels that the MRI images are very useful for plotting out your surgery.
Patient Comfort
We understand that a prostate biopsy can be an uncomfortable ordeal. However, going under general anesthesia is extreme for a procedure like this. We provide our patients with medication, a numbing prostate block, and the option of nitrous gas (laughing gas) to make the procedure as comfortable as possible. You can avoid the hassle of an IV, general anesthesia, and hospital charges.
The Urology Place has partnered with Aurora Cancer Center to provide this technology to our patients. Insurances may cover a portion of the UroNav Smart Biopsy at The Urology Place. Depending on coverage, we can offer self-pay rates for the MRI and Smart Biopsy at an affordable price point.
Looking for an alternative to a prostate biopsy?
If you have a concerning PSA value but would like to take some time to consider a prostate biopsy, we offer various prostate cancer screening options that are non-invasive.