The Philippines' first, only High-Intensity Focused Ultrasound system launched

MANILA, Philippines — Living up to its reputation of pioneering healthcare services with state-of-the-art facilities that are first-of-its-kind in the Philippines, St. Luke’s Medical Center brings in the country’s first and only High-Intensity Focused Ultrasound (HIFU) System and opens the country’s first and only facility specializing in HIFU AT St. Luke’s-Global City.

The HIFU performs a non-surgical treatment modality. It uses an extracorporeal focused ultrasound beam to generate heat, thus destroying solid tumors — whether malignant or benign.

“HIFU technology will revolutionize the treatment of our patients with uterine myoma, adenomyosis and liver tumors. It is a better alternative for patients who do not want surgery and those who are not in good physical condition for conventional surgical treatment,” explained Dr. Ramon De Vera, head of the HIFU Unit.

Advantages

The advantages of using the HIFU system are:

• It is a non-surgical procedure for gynecological and hepatic masses.
• It prevents complications related to surgical procedures.
• There is no surgical incision or scarring.
• No blood loss occurs.
• There are no damages to the surrounding normal tissues.
• It uses real-time ultrasound for a safe and precise ablation of uterine and hepatic tumors.
• It is usually a one-time treatment.
• It is frequently an outpatient procedure for uterine myomas and adenomyosis and requires only light sedation and analgesia for such cases.
• For infertility patients, they can try to get pregnant after three months.

Testimonies

“Even though it’s a new technology here in the Philippines, I trusted the expertise of St. Luke’s Also, the team made me feel comfortable during the treatment, and they told me everything I needed to know,” said Charisse Agbayani, the first ever HIFU patient in the Philippines.

Before the procedure, a comprehensive examination is performed on patients to determine their eligibility. The patients are provided with pre-, intra-, and post-procedural discussions with the HIFU specialists.

"The procedure is relatively safe. Side effects like skin burn, vaginal bleeding, urinary retention, and intestinal and nerve injuries can be prevented by a thorough screening that will be done by our experts in ultrasound and MRI/CT imaging, followed by positioning and simulation of the procedure," said Dr. Sandee Go, assistant head of the HIFU Unit.

With this procedure, patients recover quickly and may return to normal activities after 3 to 4 days, as compared to the downtime one may experience from traditional surgery (which may take 30 to 60 days). Moreover, HIFU entails minimal discomfort, allowing the patient to communicate during the procedure.

To know more about this new service of St. Luke’s Medical Center-Global City, call St. Luke's Product Information Hub at 0919-057-7744, 0998-534-2768, 0928-520-0239, 0947-993-0471 (call), 0919-160-7744 (text), or email productinfo@stlukes.com.ph.