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There is a new medical technology available for men in Bend diagnosed with prostate cancer. One in nine men in the U.S. will end up with this diagnosis.
Dr. Andrew Neeb, a urologist out of Bend, is now offering SpaceOAR hydrogel for men with prostate cancer. SpaceOAR hydrogel, is a protective spacer between the prostate and the rectum. It has been clinically proven to reduce the risk of side effects during and after radiation treatment. Dr. Neeb and Boston Scientific are excited to offer this game changing technology to men in the Greater Bend area. Urology Specialists and St. Charles Radiation Oncology have partnered to offer this technology to men in Oregon.
Dr. Neeb has been in practice in Bend since 2006 and is the founder and medical director of Urology Specialists of Oregon. He has been the Chief of Urology at the St. Charles Bend Campus 2012-2013. He has been on the St. Charles Redmond surgical services committee and has been Chief of Urology at St. Charles Redmond since 2009. He is also involved in the Medical Advisory Committee at the Bend Surgery Center since 2012. He has been appointed as secretary treasurer of the medical executive committee at St. Charles since 2014. Dr. Neeb is certified by the American Board of Urology.
In April 2015, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) cleared SpaceOAR hydrogel. In a prospective, randomized, multi-center clinical trial in the United States, patients treated with SpaceOAR hydrogel prior to prostate cancer radiation treatment demonstrated bowel, urinary, and sexual benefits through a median of three years of follow-up. The study found that the patients that did not receive SpaceOAR hydrogel experienced a clinically significant decline in bowel, urinary, and sexual quality of life eight times more often than patients that received SpaceOAR hydrogel. It is a minimally invasive outpatient procedure with local or general anesthesia. Patients can immediately resume their normal activities. The gel stays in place for approximately three months and is then naturally absorbed and cleared in the urine in about six months. (1,2)
urologyinoregon.com or spaceoar.com
