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Permanent Prostate Implant Program at UCLA
The UCLA prostate implant
program utilizes a team approach for efficiently treating early-stage carcinoma
of the prostate. The program emphasizes a team approach, combining the
experience and resources of the UCLA Department of Radiation Oncology and
Urology.
After initial consultation
with a radiation oncologist and urologist the patient will undergo an initial
ultrasound scan in the UCLA Department of Urology. This imaging study (volume
study) will be used to outline the prostate and visualize critical structures
such as the urethra.
The information obtained
from the initial volume study will be handed to a Medical Physicist from the
Department of Radiation Oncology and a "pre-plan" seed distribution
will be created.
 
This pre-planning stage
will determine the type of isotope (Iodine-125 or Palladium-103), the number of
seeds, the distribution of the seeds, and the total prescription dose to the
prostate. Each pre-plan is custom designed for each patient to deliver the
prescription dose to the prostate while minimizing the dose to the urethra.
After the dose plan has
been approved by the radiation oncologist the Medical Physicist completes the
initial pre-planning stage by ordering the seeds, independently checking the
prescribed activity for each seed, and sterilization. The needle distribution
designed using the computer will be inserted on implant day using the same
template style as shown below.
 
After the implant
procedure a radiograph is taken for quality assurance purposes and to provide a
qualitative assessment of the post-implant distribution.
The implant procedure is
considered an outpatient procedure and the patient will be released with
suitable instructions at the end of the day. Approximately one month after the
implant the patient will return for a follow-up CT scan. This scan will be
used to perform a rigorous quantitative analysis on the post-implant dose
distribution and to provide feedback to the implant team.
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