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High-Intensity Focused Ultrasound Provides Breakthough Treatment for Prostate Cancer
Until recently, patients had three options for treating their prostate cancers: a radical prostatectomy - through either open or minimally invasive robotic surgery; radiation therapy involving the implantation of radioactive metal particles, or "seeds," in the prostate and sometimes combined with external radiation; and cryotherapy, a procedure that involves freezing the prostate gland. Although each is highly effective in treating prostate cancer, each also has the potential for long-term or permanent side effects. These include impotence, urinary incontinence, injury to the rectum, and other complications.
At Valley Urological Associates we have recently begun investigating a new treatment tool, known as High Intensity Focused Ultrasound, or HIFU. This procedure is currently part of a multi-center clinical study to collect data on safety and effectiveness, and has been shown in other studies to be highly effective in treating low risk, localized prostate cancer. Dr. Robert Doebler has been trained in the procedure, which is available in Mexico and the Bahamas.
According to Dr. Doebler, patients who are seeking to avoid the potential for impotence, as well as the complications of the alternative procedures, should arrange for an appointment to explore whether or not HIFU could be an effective option.
"We are seeing younger and younger patients with prostate cancer - men in their 50s and early 60s who potentially have another 30 plus years of life, for whom the complications that often come with these other options are dramatically life-altering. They may be cancer free," said Dr. Doebler, "but their quality of life is greatly diminished.
"The advantage that HIFU provides is its precision," continued Dr. Doebler. "With HIFU, we can avoid injury to the neurovascular bundles, preserving the patient’s ability to achieve an erection, as well as other potential complications such as incontinence. We achieve the same result as the other options - eradicating the cancer, but we can avoid virtually all of the related complications. HIFU is performed on an outpatient basis and, in most cases, the patient can resume normal activities in three or four days."
For more information about HIFU, contact Valley Urological Associates at 412-741-8025.
