What is Histotripsy?
Histotripsy is a non-invasive medical procedure that uses high-intensity sound waves to destroy liver tumors. Unlike other treatment methods, histotripsy does not require your doctor to make cuts or incisions, use needles, or rely on ionizing radiation. The procedure can be performed under general anesthesia and involves the use of ultrasound imaging to locate the targeted tissue and monitor the treatment in real-time.
How is histotripsy performed?
Histotripsy involves placing a treatment head, which emits the sound waves, inside a soft, flexible membrane containing specially treated water. This membrane is then positioned on your abdomen and directed at the liver tumor.
The sound waves create a bubble cloud from the rapid expansion and collapse of naturally-occurring gas bubbles within your tissue. This bubble cloud destroys the targeted tissue.
What are the benefits of histotripsy?
Non-invasive
The procedure does not require any incisions, needles, or other insertions through the skin which can help reduce the risk of infection, bleeding, long recovery times and other complications.
Single Treatment
Most tumors can be effectively destroyed in a single treatment session. Depending on your clinical condition and treatment plan, multiple treatment sessions may be necessary.
Targeted
Histotripsy can be used to precisely target and destroy unwanted tissue, such as tumors, while minimizing damage to surrounding tissue.
All medical procedures involve risk. Patients should consult their physician for more information and to understand the risks and benefits of histotripsy of the liver. Histotripsy results in the destruction of liver tissue, including liver tumors, which may impact overall liver function. During the clinical trial, the most common side effects experienced were procedural pain, abdominal pain and fever. Each patient experience will vary.
Discover if histotripsy is right for you.
To find out if you might be a candidate for histotripsy, please fill out the form below. If histotripsy might be right for you, you’ll be directed to our Doctor Locator tool to find a hospital offering histotripsy near you. You can also download an information packet.
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