Cryosurgery of the prostate gland.

This personal review of the use of cryosurgery in prostatic disorders aims to put in perspective the value of the technique, establishing its place in the urologist's armamentarium mainly in the unfit subject but pointing to other applications as well. "Blind" perurethral cryosurgery has been used and has been shown to be effective in relieving urethral outflow obstruction, particularly in the second series of 178 patients with benign prostatic disease in which a simple "rule of thumb" technique was used.