
TULSA-PRO surgery is latest in prostate cancer treatment
Staff Reports | Digital Free Press
In a matter of days, Phoenix-based and world-renowned urologist Dr. Y. Mark Hong is performing a new prostate cancer-treating medical procedure for the first time in Arizona.
Dr. Hong will be performing the first-ever Transurethral Ultrasound Ablation Procedure, or TULSA-PRO surgery, in Arizona on Jan. 21, according to a press release.
The TULSA-PRO procedure is an image- and robotic-guided incision-less minimally invasive radiation-free surgery that uses targeted ultrasound to destroy prostate cancer cells without damaging normal tissue.
The TULSA-PRO procedure is customized based on the patient’s unique anatomy and amount of prostate cancer. TULSA-PRO minimizes the unintended side effects of traditional prostate cancer therapies such as robotic prostatectomy surgery and radiation therapy, including incontinence (leakage of urine) and erectile dysfunction.
Dr. Hong brings considerable experience performing TULSA-PRO surgery in California to Arizona patients as a new option in their care and recovery.
“This is an important new tool for improving care for prostate cancer patients by curing cancer while mitigating the side effects they may experience from other treatments that significantly worsen men’s quality of life,“ Dr. Hong said in a prepared statement. “I look forward to helping advance treatment for Arizona patients with the TULSA-PRO procedure, and I believe this will be an increasingly desirable treatment option for patients in our local community.”
TULSA-PRO surgery is latest in prostate cancer treatment
Dr. Hong will perform the outpatient procedure in a purpose-built Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI)-guided operating suite, using the TULSA-PRO robotic system to ablate prostate tissue from the “inside-out.” The state-of-the-art procedure combines real-time MRI imaging with robotically driven, directional thermal ultrasound to deliver precise prostate cancer ablation without collateral damage.
TULSA-PRO is FDA-approved with excellent outcomes across multiple clinical trials published worldwide. The procedure is incision-free and performed as an outpatient where the patient goes home the same day.
Patients who have undergone TULSA-PRO experience high cancer cure rates, low complication rates, and a rapid recovery time compared to other prostate cancer therapies, the release states.