Professor Kingsley Ekwueme, a consultant urologist laparoscopic and robotic surgeon, made history in Lagos by introducing High-Intensity Focused Ultrasound (HIFU) for the treatment of prostate cancer at The Prostate Clinic (TPC). According to Ekwueme, the technology is “small but mighty” since it uses targeted ultrasound radiation to kill cancer cells in the prostate without the need for surgery, wounds, or discomfort, allowing patients to go home the same day.He said, “What you have here is a high-intensity focused ultrasound machine that delivers energy directly into the prostate to kill cancer that has been clearly identified.” “The machine does the rest after the data is fed into the system.” He claims that the HIFU system is completely automated. Treatment is administered with a single click once the prostate is scanned and the location of the cancer is mapped. He explained, “You just click a button and sit back and watch.” “Color changes on the screen indicate when the cancer has been totally eliminated. After it is finished, the patient leaves for home and the machine turns itself off.According to Ekwueme, one of the technology’s biggest benefits is that it doesn’t have the typical adverse effects of treating prostate cancer. He declared, “There is no cut, no pain, no urine leakage, no loss of erection, and no loss of ejaculation.” “Even with something as basic as paracetamol, patients can manage and return home the same day.”The novel method solely targets the afflicted area, in contrast to traditional prostate cancer surgery, which removes the entire prostate gland. “When the cancer is only on one side of the prostate, why remove the entire organ?”Ekwueme enquired. We refer to this as focused therapy. We eradicate the cancer in that particular area while preserving the remainder of the prostate.According to him, the invention is especially crucial in Nigeria, where men are frequently affected by prostate cancer at a younger age, particularly if they have a family history of the condition. He stated, “We are now seeing young men with prostate cancer who have not yet fathered children.” “They can still father children naturally, their prostate stays intact, and their erection and ejaculation are preserved thanks to this technology.” The third significant urological first by the clinic this year is HIFU, which was introduced weeks after Africa’s first UroLift technique for an enlarged prostate and months after TPC first robotic prostate cancer surgery.
About The Author
