The HPA Health Group has unveiled a “pioneering prostate cancer treatment” which uses a “minimally invasive” surgical technique that offers patients a procedure without incisions, scars, blood loss and radiation.
The technique started being used on May 27 and uses High Intensity Focused Ultrasound (HIFU) technology.
Explains the group in a statement, the Focal One Robotic System emits high magnitude ultrasound energy, rapidly increasing the temperature at the targeted area which causes coagulative necrosis. In other words, this enables the “precise removal of malignant prostate lesions while preserving healthy tissues and structures surrounding it.”
“The accuracy of the procedure is ensured through a software system that combines overlapping 3D images with magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). All movements are robotically controlled with submillimetre precision,” the group says.
“Additionally, this technique excels in terms of time efficiency, with the entire process, including planning, equipment setup, and the procedure itself, taking only 45 minutes – three times faster than most techniques,” it adds.
The technique also eliminates the need for incisions, and thus leaves no scars, and it also avoids blood loss and eliminates the use of radiation.
The health group also highlights that the HIFU system “provides accessibility to the anterior part of large prostates (up to 40mm) while maintaining precision.”
“The great advantage is the ability to treat focal lesions without compromising continence or sexual function,” says Dr. Tiago Rodrigues, described as the leading supporter of this new technology within Grupo HPA Saúde.
“The Urology Department of Grupo HPA Saúde remains committed to being at the forefront of maintaining the quality of life and well-being of male health, particularly in prostate carcinoma, the most common cancer in men in the western world,” the health group says.
It adds that approximately 6,000 new cases of prostate cancer are diagnosed each year in Portugal, accounting for 10% of all newly diagnosed cancers in the country.
