HIFU treatment?

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Has anyone experience of this new treatment on the NHS in the north of England please? 

  • So, My HIFU Journey.

    I’m writing this with the intention that it will be of help to others that find themselves in a similar position, that position being making the choice of which treatment to choose.

    I received my  PC diagnosis in mid February 2024, that story and what led to getting diagnosed can be read about in my previous posts, but in summary my cancer was small and detected early.

    I mulled endlessly over the NHS offered choices as others do, I was drawn to HIFU as a treatment option as it had all the success statistics of other treatments but was less invasive, lower risks with regard to side effects and had faster recovery times.

    I am lucky enough to have BUPA cover through my employer so I was able to explore the HIFU route.

     I chose the Nuffield Hospital in Wimbledon London and the consultant Professor Ahmed, with whom I had an initial telephone consultation after he had reviewed my MRI and Biopsy results. My suitability was confirmed and a treatment date of May7th 2024 was booked.

     I booked in to the private hospital in Wimbledon on the 7th May at about 14:00 and went for the procedure at about 17:00. I was under for approx an hour and a half and came round in the recovery room and was wheeled back to the private room for an overnight stay, an indwelling catheter was installed during the procedure and also a canular in my left hand for fluids and antibiotics (I assume) The catheter was connected to a large drain bag on a stand by the bed. Obtaining sleep that night was difficult, not because of any discomfort, which was minimal, but because of interrupted sleep patterns and body clock chaos  from the general anaesthetic. There were no physical signs that a procedure had been done and I was in no discomfort at all. The next day guidance was given on the catheter which was to stay in place for something like 9 days. I was discharged at approx mid day the day after the procedure with a big bag of medication, which included antibiotics, prostate relaxant tablets and pain control meds. I was also issued with a leg bag and a larger volume catheter drain bag to attach to a stand to position next to the bed at home for night use.

     The instruction was to use the catheter leg and night bag for 48 hrs then ditch the bags and use what is called a flip flow valve to drain the bladder when feeling the urge.  The catheter took some getting used to, and I was a bit paranoid about catching or knocking it but I soon got the hang of things and worked out a routine for shower time etc. Pain was not really an issue in the following days with only what’s best described as a dull ache being felt.

    The 9 days of catheter passed without event and the appointment to remove the catheter arrived.

    Back to the hospital in Wimbledon for catheter removal which I have to say wasn’t the most comfortable experience but it was all over very quickly. The hospital want to see a decent volume of urine passed before they let you go home and I had some delay in achieving this (due I think to being a bit de hydrated after the 4 hour journey to the hospital) there was some concern that I was going into urinary retention so I was shown how to self-catheterise. Admittedly I did struggle to do this and nearly flaked out as a result.

    I was allowed to go home after some time and I was supplied with self-catheterisation equipment.

     Self-catheterisation at home was  a little more relaxed and it was achievable following a kind of relaxation routine and by lying down on the bed while the gloved up Mrs did the business with the catheter pipe.

    Self-catheterisation went on for about a week and we performed it 3 times a day. Once I was passing a higher volume of urine than was being drained by catheter we stopped with the catheter, which was a huge relief to all. During this time I either developed a UTI or a reaction to the catheter lubricant. This made passing urine extremely painful but it was quickly sorted by a prescription of antibiotics from my GP.

     All in all I was off work for about 6 weeks, I was mobile after a week or so, but just light duty pottering about, nothing strenuous. Returning to work was mostly a bladder confidence thing and I still now don’t like to travel anywhere without a pee bottle.

     

    So was HIFU successful?

    A PSA blood test taken at 3 months after the procedure shows a good fall in PSA level to 1.6 (at its highest my PSA was only 3.88 (which is still quite low I realise)

    I can say everything else has pretty much returned to normal. Bladder function is normal , I don’t have to visit the loo in the night at all  and daytime urine volume is now decent and regular. Erectile function is as was before the procedure, so all good. I certainly have no regrets over choosing HIFU and would recommend it if you meet the criteria but do your research, read everything that you can find.

     

     

  • Hello  

    Thanks ever so much for returning to give us a cracking insight into your personal journey with the HIFU treatment. 

    It's a "warts and all" journey and you don't gloss over anything which is great - thank you.

    I am so pleased it's worked for you and I will add this post to my list of resources should any one else on the Community chose to go down this route.

    Thanks again for taking the time to post and I wish you well in the future.

    Kind Regards - Brian.

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  • Hi  - a very interesting read.  Thank you.  AW