St. Peter’s Hospital, an affiliate of St. Peter’s Health Partners, and Capital Region Urology, part of St. Peter’s Health Partners Medical Associates, are changing the way certain prostate cancers are treated in the Capital Region, and patients and surgeons are praising the benefits.
High-intensity frequency ultrasound (HIFU) is a non-invasive procedure that uses ultrasound waves to heat and destroy targeted tissue – such as cancer cells or tumors – without incisions or radiation. It’s most effective for patients with localized, low-to-intermediate-grade prostate cancer.
“When two tiny beams of ultrasound come together and cross, it causes tissue destruction. We can see little red dots where the beams cross that allow us to specifically localize areas inside the prostate gland where we’re destroying the patient’s tumor,” explained Dr. Jonah Marshall, a surgeon with Capital Region Urology.
HIFU is performed rectally and offers faster recovery with fewer side effects compared to traditional surgery.
“My last patient said going to the dentist for a filling was worse than this procedure,” said Dr. Marshall. “There’s almost no urinary incontinence and very, very minimal erectile dysfunction post-procedure, no incisions, no pain. Sometimes the prostate may swell during the procedure, so some patients do have to have a catheter for a few days. Patients are back to work within a week. In general, this is an extremely minimally invasive surgery.”
“Long-term studies have shown dramatically lower instances of erectile dysfunction post-procedure when compared to radical surgery and current radiation techniques,” said Dr. Shaheen Rahman, also a surgeon with Capital Region Urology. “For our patients, preserving these things and having that low risk of side effects is very important.”
Tom Tyrrell who is the Chair of St. Peter’s Hospital Foundation (which helped get this advanced procedure approved for St. Peter’s Hospital) was the first patient to undergo the HIFU procedure in September 2025.
“I can’t say enough about the outcome. At my three-month follow up, the cancer was totally gone,” said Tyrrell. “Had I gone with surgery, I could have faced possible complications that can result from undergoing an invasive operation. With HIFU, I had none. This procedure is a tremendous advancement for the region and unique to St. Peter’s Hospital and Capital Region Urology.”
Since Tyrrell’s procedure, the surgeons at Capital Region Urology have performed more than 25 HIFU cases.
The surgeons stress this is not limited to a “one and done” procedure.
“This procedure gives patients multiple options for treatment. It still allows us to offer additional treatments should they have a relapse or develop a new focus of cancer that wasn’t treated. We can still offer them radiation therapy or radical surgery as well,” said Dr. Rahman.
St. Peter’s is always committed to patient care and advancements in technology. Surgeons are looking for this same ultrasound technology to be used in other fields of urology in the future.
