Because of this it s only available in specialist centres in the uk or as part of a clinical trial.
Hifu prostate cancer treatment side effects.
Hifu also helps men avoid common side effects like urinary incontinence and erectile dysfunction.
Targeted sound waves that heat and destroy prostate cancer tissue with minimal side effects hifu uses focused intense heat to destroy prostate cancer.
High intensity focused ultrasound or hifu is an fda approved minimally invasive procedure for the treatment of prostate cancer that offers personalized treatment and dramatically reduced side effects.
Rare side effects include a uti blood in the urine and a testicular infection.
This is what makes this therapy attractive to the many patients.
Erectile dysfunction some men have problems getting or keeping an erection after hifu.
For some men this will improve but for others this will be a longer term side effect of the treatment.
Although the hifu treatment for prostate cancer is new in the united states it is something that is been practiced for more than a decade in europe and asia.
Other side effects include pain between your testicles and your rectum which can often be handled with medication.
Overall the long term side effects of sonablate hifu for prostate cancer are minimal.
High intensity focused ultrasound hifu treatment for prostate cancer what is high intensity focused ultrasound hifu.
There have been no digestive system complications reported when ablatherm hifu was used in the initial treatment of t 1 or t 2 cancer of the prostate.
In the cases where ablatherm hifu was used in patients with previous radiation treatment failures there were some reports of a feeling of mild rectal burning.
Potential side effects of hifu include.
After hifu you may have trouble getting an erection but this usually goes away in time and there are drugs that can help you while you regain your ability to do so.
Hifu is newer than some of the other treatments for prostate cancer so we don t know as much about the risk of side effects or how well it works in the long term after 10 years.
This treatment option is not something that is new for the rest of the world.
Patient selection thorough planning and meticulous execution are what create the balance of good cancer control and maintaining a high quality of life.
If an inexperienced and untrained physician performs hifu the side effects of incontinence and erectile dysfunction that accompany traditional prostate cancer treatments can occur just as often and the benefits of hifu compared to traditional treatments can be lost.
There s also a risk for blood in your urine a urinary infection and an.
