Cryoprobe for prostate surgery. A surgeon's hand holds a metal cryoprobe, used in the treatment of prostate cancer, next to its control panel. The ice ball at the probe's tip demonstrates its cooling power after being placed in water. Used in cryosurgery (surgical freezing of tissues), the probe is inserted through the skin between scrotum and rectum, and into the prostate gland, guided by ultrasound. Prostate cancer cells around the probe are then frozen and killed. Prostate cancer is common in elderly men. The cryoprobe is an alternative to long-term radiation therapy or radical prostate surgery. Photographed at Underwood Memorial Hospital in New Jersey, USA.