Galveston – A new procedure at UTMB Galveston is changing the way men can be treated for prostate cancer.
The treatment uses ultrasound technology to eliminate cancer but leaves surrounding, healthy tissue unharmed.
Joe Glass is one week out from undergoing a procedure on his prostate. Although, he never went under the knife.
“I feel pretty good,” Glass explained.
Dr. Eric Walser treated him with the new MRI treatment called the TULSA-PRO.
The treatment uses focused ultrasound beams rather than needles.
“What it’s doing is the computer is sending these waves out like a beacon from a lighthouse and it’s destroying the tissue as it sweeps back-and-forth,” Dr. Walser explained.
Patients like Joe never spend a night in the hospital. Aside from the follow-up one week after the procedure to remove a catheter, he won’t need excessive repeat visits, Dr. Walser explained.
Dr. Walser said most men find the catheter to be bothersome, but it’s a minor inconvenience compared to the major impact traditional therapies could have on a man’s lifestyle.
“They target cancer and they leave the prostate, you don’t have all of the side effects like incontinence or erectile dysfunction or those kinds of things,” Glass said.
“These are pretty major side effects, and we feel that minimally invasive techniques like this [TULSA-PRO] are a way to really get past the side effects and help young men that are still very active to have a normal life,” Dr. Walser said.
Dr. Walser also said this can be used in more than just cancer, it can also be used with other prostate issues. Hear him explain the relief it can bring here: