Prostate Biopsy Technique Combines MRI and Ultrasound to Eliminate Infection Risk

Urologists at the Mayo Clinic (Rochester, MN, USA) have developed a new way of performing prostate biopsy that reduces the chance of infection to nearly zero. It's an outpatient procedure called "transperineal ultrasound-guided MRI fusion biopsy." The technology superimposes an MRI on top of the ultrasound, which gives doctors a better view of the prostate. The procedure could catch cancer earlier and nearly eliminate the risk of infection.

"Most biopsies in this country are done with a transrectal ultrasound machine. The problem with this technique is that there is a risk of infection because the needle traverses the rectal wall and is exposed to fecal contamination," said Dr. Julio Gundian Jr., a Mayo Clinic urologist. "This technique allows us to avoid the rectum altogether. We place a needle through the perineum, which is the skin between the scrotum and the anus, directly into the prostate. So this makes the procedure no longer a blind technique where we are just randomly obtaining tissue from the prostate."

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