Patients with Early-Stage Prostate Cancer May Benefit from an Easier Treatment Option

High Intensity Focused Ultrasound (HIFU) Is Available at Lakewood Ranch Medical Center and Can Offer Advantages over Traditional Treatment Options
For patients dealing with prostate cancer, surgery or radiation can often come with side effects, including erectile dysfunction and incontinence. The minimally invasive HIFU procedure aims to treat prostate cancer with reduced side effects.

How Does HIFU Therapy Work?
HIFU destroys prostate cancer cells through precise focusing of sound waves to the targeted location. A transducer from an ultrasound probe inserted into the rectum delivers the sound waves. The use of a robotic arm allows the surgeon to precisely control the probe’s movements. The heat, created from the interaction between the sound waves and the cancerous tissue, is what destroys the cancer cells.

Advantages of HIFU

• HIFU is minimally invasive, so only the cancerous tissue is targeted, not the surrounding tissue.
• Precision features significantly reduce side effects, such as impotence or urinary problems.
• HIFU is an outpatient treatment. Patients typically recover for about two hours in the hospital and then go home, often without a need for pain medication.

Experience Matters
When it comes to the use of HIFU for the treatment of prostate cancer, experience is important, according to Stephen Scionti, MD, board-certified urologist. Dr. Scionti performed the first HIFU treatment at Lakewood Ranch Medical Center in 2018 when the hospital became one of the first in Florida to acquire HIFU. For patients who are seeking the advantages of HIFU, Dr. Scionti recommends that they do their research to find a physician who has experience with the procedure. Dr. Scionti has worked extensively with HIFU and has performed more than 1,000 successful procedures worldwide.

Prostate Cancer Statistics and Risk Factors
Other than skin cancer, prostate cancer is the most common cancer in American men.* Approximately 288,300 new cases of prostate cancer are estimated for 2023, and 34,700 deaths, according to the American Cancer Society.® Individuals with the highest risk factors for prostate cancer include African American men, men who are 65 and older, and men with a family history of prostate cancer. Finding prostate cancer early may help reduce symptoms, make treatment easier or prevent death from prostate cancer.* Talk to your physician about your risk for prostate cancer and what screening measures may be right for you.

For a referral to a physician at Lakewood Ranch Medical Center, please call 800-816-4145.
Individual results may vary. There are risks associated with any minimally invasive procedure.

Talk with your doctor about these risks to find out if this procedure is right for you. Physicians are on the medical staff of Lakewood Ranch Medical Center, but, with limited exceptions, are independent practitioners who are not employees or agents of Lakewood Ranch Medical Center. The hospital shall not be liable for actions or treatments provided by physicians. For language assistance, disability accommodations and the nondiscrimination notice, visit our website.
*CDC