Permanent Seed Implant Patient Education

The Day Before the Implant

• Have a hearty, regular breakfast. The rest of the day, you should have only clear liquids. A clear liquid diet includes foods that are liquid at room temperature. Examples include: clear broth, bouillon, tea, coffee, decaffeinated coffee and teas, Jell-O, carbonated beverages, hard candy, clear fruit juices (cranberry, grape, apple, cherry), Popsicles, and fruit-ades or ices made from clear fruit juices.
• Administer one Fleet (saline/phosphate) enema two hours before you go to bed.
• A nurse from the Surgery Department will call you to review instructions and to let you know when to arrive at Regional Hospital
• Do not eat or drink anything after midnight.

The Day of the Implant

• Administer one Fleet (saline/phosphate) enema one hour before you go to the hospital.
• Arrive at the Hospital Admissions Department at your scheduled time. You will be admitted to the pre-op area. If you have not met the anesthesiologist, he or she will meet you in the pre-op area. An IV will be started and you will be given an antibiotic and medicines to help you relax.
• When it is time to start the implant, you will be taken to an operating room. Your doctors will be there. You will lie on your back with your legs up in stirrups. Under anesthesia, small needles are placed through the skin between the scrotum and the rectum. An ultrasound probe is placed in the rectum to help guide the needles to the correct place. The radioactive seed is then inserted into the prostate and the needle is removed. The seeds are left in place permanently.
• After the seeds are placed, a scope is passed into the bladder. This is done to check for seeds that may be loose in the bladder or the urinary channel (the urethra). Afterwards, a catheter is placed temporarily in your bladder to drain urine.
• When the implant is complete, you will go to the recovery room and then to the post-op recovery area until you are ready to go home. While you are in the recovery room, an ice bag will be placed between your legs to help reduce the swelling in the implant area. A nurse will check your vital signs and pain medicine will be available, if needed. The urinary catheter is usually removed once the urine is clear. Occasionally, it is left in overnight.
• Expect to be in the hospital 10 to 12 hours. This procedure does not usually require an overnight stay.
• You may expect some side effects during the first few days after the implant. These may include
  • Blood in the urine
  • Difficulty urinating
  • Slight bleeding at the site of the needle insertion
  • Bruising and tenderness at the scrotum and anal area
• When you are discharged from the Hospital, you will be given instructions for care. You will be given a time for a follow-up appointment to return to see your doctors, approximately one month after the implant.
• If you have any problems after you return home, a doctor is on-call 24 hours a day at the Cancer Care Institute. Call (605) 719-2360.

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