Spire Hartswood Hospital in Brentwood is proud to be involved in a new technique for treating cancer patients. Consultant Urologist Mr Bhanot, who also works at Barking, Havering and Redbridge Hospitals NHS Trust, pioneered the extra-peritoneal technique of laparoscopic – more commonly known as keyhole - prostatectomy in the UK, and has been treating patients with prostate cancer for 14 years
Mr Bhanot says: “35,000 men are diagnosed with prostate cancer every year and the risk increases with age. However, improved diagnostic methods mean that we are now able to diagnose this disease at an early and often curable stage.”
Treatment options include surgery, radiotherapy, heating and cooling of the prostate, and active surveillance - often known as ‘watchful waiting’. However, without surgery, lifelong follow-up and surveillance is required because of the risk of the cancer recurring.
Surgery, which traditionally involved significant complications, has advanced in recent years with the availability of laparoscopic surgery. Patients whose cancer is completely removed after surgery are unlikely to require further treatment.
The keyhole prostatectomy technique treats prostate cancer in a kinder way than traditional open surgery, with a shorter hospital stay. In addition, recovery time is two or three weeks compared to up to three months after open radical prostatectomy.
Mr Bhanot concludes: “Prostate cancer is the most common cancer in men. The PSA count is widely known to detect prostate cancer, but other cutting edge technologies at Spire Hartswood such as trans-rectal ultrasound (TRUS) guided biopsies of the prostate, PCA3 gene testing and free-PSA testing work together to provide a good indicator to help us fight this disease.”