Prostate brachytherapy, or radioactive seed implants, involves implanting 70 to 120 iodine or palladium radioactive seeds throughout the entire prostate, depending on the prostate’s calculated volume.

Martin Keisch, MD, a board certified radiation oncologist, performs the procedure in an operating room while the patient is under anesthesia. He uses needles to insert the seeds through the perineal skin (the area of the body between the scrotum and rectum). His team includes a board-certified urologist who attends all procedures and helps ensure quality
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Dr. Keisch uses the most advanced equipment and technology, such as transrectal ultrasound guidance for pre-operative planning as well as during surgery, and CAT Scan imaging after surgery to verify the quality of the implant.
The seeds, which are each about the size of a grain of rice, remain permanently in place and eventually lose their radioactivity. Iodine seeds usually lose their radioactivity after about six months and palladium after three months.

Benefits of Prostate Brachytherapy

Prostate brachytherapy, which is not a new procedure, has for years successfully enabled the delivery of significantly higher doses of radiation to the prostate while minimizing radiation to adjacent organs including the bladder and rectum.
Another important benefit: It enables patients to avoid surgery and has a much quicker recovery time. Patients generally return to normal activities the day after surgery. Prostate brachytherapy has the lowest rates of post-treatment impotence of any other cancer treatment.

Candidates for Brachytherapy

Candidates for prostate brachytherapy have stage T-1 and T-2 tumors with PSAs in the moderate to low range. In general, they have tumors that are identical to those suitable for radical prostatectomy. Candidates also may include patients who are not physically capable of enduring surgery.

Education is Key

Cancer care is an important decision, and we encourage all our patients to conduct extensive research and educate themselves of all the treatment options. For this reason, we created an online Resource Center that provides patients with the information they need as well as links to other sources of information. To visit our Resources Center, click here.

Many patients also benefit from learning about others’ personal experiences. To read some of our patients’ testimonials, click here.



Dr. Keisch has performed almost 800 seed implants during the past decade.

For more information, call us today at 305.545.6685 or Toll-free at 1.877.545.6685. You also may contact us via e-mail at info@cancerhealthcare.net.