He is an Interventional Radiologist at the University of North Carolina. Unfortunately, scheduling a Prostatic Arterial Embolization wasn't in the cards for me at this time. That said, this guy actually calls people bacck! It took five attempts for us to reach each other, but he was relentless. I presently don't have $6,500.00 to have this procedure and unfortunately the clinical trial at UNC is now closed. He knew that in advance, and he could have just as easily ignored me. He was, however, decent enough to forward me to three other open clinical trials for this procedure. Takeaway: If you do need a PAE, and you can afford it, I would highly recommend Dr. Isaacson, not just because of my telephone interactions with him, but because this forum is fraught with stories of how reputable, thoroough, and professional he truly is.
I concur - I spoke with Dr. Isaacson last year. He returned my call within 24hrs and did a great job of explaining the pros/cons of the procedure. Unfortunately, since I have PCa and a small(er) prostate (28cc) - this was not the right procedure for me. But - it was refreshing to have a medical professional be this responsive and helpful to someone who was not a patient.
Hi Tim. I totally agree - big fan of Dr. Isaacson. By the way, what is "PCa"?
I can Second Alan's recommendation and reference of Dr. Isaacson...I was considering a PAE with him, but he stated it was not the best procedure to correct my problem....He recommended a REZUL procedure which I plan to have soon..
Hi Randy. What is a REZUL? (or is it the same as a REZUM?)
Good luck!
The correct spelling is REZUM....The PAE treatment is for Large Swollen Prostates and possibly High PSA's...The RESUM is recommended for prostate size > 30cm < 80cm and with Low PSA's. My Prostate size was 29,4cm and my PSA was 3.92......REZUM urologists use radiofrequency energy to transform sterile water into stored thermal energy in the form of vapor or steam.The water vapor is convectively delivered directly into the obstructive prostate tissue that causes BPH, where condensation releases enough thermal energy to denature the targeted prostate tissue cells to cause necrosis (kills them). Then, the treated tissue is absorbed/consumed by the body's immune system....You can visit American Urological Association website for the above information plus more.....I Hope This Helps!...
Thanks!
Sorry, that's an abbreviation for prostate cancer.
I have a single Gleason 6 lesion. Dr. Isaacson said there was a 'possibility' (but no clinical proof) that the PAE procedure *MAY* (big emphasis) - may, cause prostate cancer to become aggressive as the PAE reduces the blood supply. He said they still perform it on men that have it, but make them aware of this possibility. Since the procedure is relatively new, there isn't a lot of data yet on it.
THe bigger issue for me was the lack of data on men with small-ish glands (like mine). As such, I deferred on this for now - currently considering Rezum or Urolift.
Thanks Tim. Best of luck.
I was in contact with him and supplied him all info as required, he turned me over to Dr.Bagla without any explanation why?
Did you have a PAE performed by Dr. Bagla?
no, was just checking on my suitability for PAE