1. Is HIFU FDA approved?
HIFU was approved by the FDA for treatment of prostate tissue in the United States in October of 2015.
2. What are the side effects of HIFU?
There is a low rate of side effects with HIFU compared to other methods of treatment for prostate cancer. This is a major reason why patients choose HIFU over other methods of treatment for prostate cancer. Erectile Dysfunction is anticipated to be about 15 to 20% for full gland treatment and 10% for partial gland. Other treatments such as radiation or surgery have Erectile Dysfunction rates of 50% or more. Urinary incontinence or rectal injury is extremely rare in HIFU. There is also a small chance of some persistent swelling or scarring in the urethra which can usually be dilated or repaired with a cystoscope procedure to correct the issue if it occurs.
3. Is HIFU covered by insurance?
HIFU is not currently covered by private insurance in the United States. The cost is $25,000 which includes the facility such as a surgery center, anesthesia, the urologist fee, and use of the equipment and disposable supplies as well as all routine post-procedure care. There could be some variation in costs among different providers or geographic areas.
4. What is unique to the Sonoblate HIFU technology that Dr. Newman utilizes?
Rectal wall monitoring helps determine the temperature of the rectal wall. This helps the physician protect the rectal wall tissue during therapy. An active cooling system is utilized. Real-time imaging allows the physician to view and compare the original image to the real-time image being treated, for visual confirmation of ablation, and the software includes TCM or Tissue Change Monitoring which is a color display that (during tissue ablation) gives the physician enhanced feedback about the change in tissue at each point of HIFU delivery.
Call Dr. Newman’s office at (702) 316-1616 to arrange a consultation about HIFU treatment.