Preparing for HIFU
Your surgeon will explain how to prepare for the procedure.
HIFU is usually done as a day-case procedure under general anesthesia. This means you will be asleep during the procedure. If you’re having a general anesthetic, you will be asked to follow fasting instructions. This means not eating or drinking, typically for about six hours beforehand. However, it’s important to follow your surgeon’s advice.
Your surgeon will discuss with you what will happen before, during and after your procedure, and any pain you might have. This is your opportunity to understand what will happen, and you can help yourself by preparing questions to ask about the risks, benefits and any alternatives to the procedure. This will help you to be informed, so you can give your consent for the procedure to go ahead, which you may be asked to do by signing a consent form.
What Happens During HIFU
HIFU takes up to three hours, but this depends on the size of your prostate and how much of it is being treated.
Your surgeon will pass a lubricated probe into your rectum. During the procedure, precisely focused ultrasound waves raise the temperature of the targeted prostate tissue to 195 degrees Fahrenheit in 2-3 seconds. This rapid-firing heat destroys the targeted tissue while leaving structures outside the targeted tissue unharmed. The probe will have a cooling balloon around it to protect nearby areas from the high temperature.
HIFU Treatment for Prostate Cancer
New Treatment for Prostate Cancer Gives ‘Perfect Results’ for Nine in Ten Men: Research
A new treatment for prostate cancer can rid the disease from nine in ten men without debilitating side effects, a study has found, leading to new hope for tens of thousands of men.
By Rebecca Smith, Medical Editor
It is hoped the new treatment, which involves heating only the tumours with a highly focused ultrasound, will mean men can be treated without an overnight stay in hospital and avoiding the distressing side effects associated with current therapies.
A study has found that focal HIFU, high-intensity focused ultrasound, provides the ‘perfect’ outcome of no major side effects and free of cancer 12 months after treatment, in nine out of ten cases.
Traditional surgery or radiotherapy can only provide the perfect outcome in half of cases currently.
Experts have said the results are ‘very encouraging’ and were a ‘paradigm’ shift in treatment of the disease.
It is hoped that large scale trials can now begin so the treatment could be offered routinely on the NHS within five years.
The National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence will say in new guidance next week that the treatment is safe and effective and larger scale trials should go ahead.
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