Full HIFU
FULL HIFU is a treatment for organ confined prostate cancer. FULL HIFU is the most appropriate HIFU treatment for patients who have organ confined prostate cancer which is not confined to one discreet area of the prostate.
The benefits of FULL HIFU
- 92% of patients successfully treated
- No incision, therefore avoiding risk of a surgical site infection
- Usually a day case
- It aims to preserve the vital structures around the gland therefore preserving continence, erectile and orgasmic function
- The procedure can be repeated as necessary
- Radiation therapy and surgery are still options if the procedure fails
- Over 99% of men remain continent
- Around 70% if men retain erectile function
There are possible side-effects with FULL HIFU, as with all treatments designed to destroy both healthy and cancerous tissues across the entire prostate. These include;
- 30-40% of patients may experience some short term urinary symptoms after the procedure due to the debris causing an obstruction in the urethra
- Most men will experience decreased or absent ejaculatory fluid
- It is a fairly long procedure (2-3 hours)
- 2-5% of men get a narrowing of the urethra (stricture) one to two months after the treatment
Although some men were treated as long as eight years ago, it is only in recent years that this technique has been so popular in the UK, Europe and Japan, and there is only a limited amount of long term data. However, clinical studies including over 2,500 patients have shown that very high cancer cure rates are achievable with HIFU.
