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The Nanoknife Procedure is a surgical procedure that is not covered by government insurance (OHIP) and is considered a private procedure where a fee is charged to the patient.
As such, the procedure is performed in a state-of-the-art, private surgical facility that is fully equipped and exceeds all public hospital facility standards.
Once a patient is scheduled by one of our urologists, patients are contacted by the facility and come on the day of the procedure. Blood thinning medication and certain diabetic medication (if applicable) may need to be stopped prior to the procedure (each case needs to be evaluated). The timing of when to stop will depend on which medication the patient is taking and the reason for taking it.
A self-administered fleet enema bowel preparation is necessary to ensure a clean bowel to allow the prostate to be clearly seen on the ultrasound.
The procedure is carried out under full general anesthesia, and it takes between 1 to 2 hours. An intravenous antibiotic is administered.
Once it is finished, you will be able to go home the same day of the procedure. A catheter is left in the bladder at the end of the procedure, and you will go home with the catheter. This is because the procedure may cause some difficulty in passing urine for a time. Your urologist will determine how long the catheter will remain in place (generally from 3 to 7 days) and will arrange where the catheter is to be removed. The discomfort from the procedure is very minimal and over-the-counter pain medication is only required.
After the catheter is removed, you may resume full activity.
Patients then need careful follow-up to ensure the treatment has been successful. A PSA blood test will be measured at three, six and 12 months, and yearly thereafter. Regular prostate MRI testing will also be performed.