What are the pros/cons of HIFU and TULSA-PRO treatments?

A few people in this forum have had Tulsa pro And have been pleased with the results. Have you tried to search for Tulsa Pro to see what comes up? Go to the main screen for the prostate cancer forum, at the top you can do the search. You will find a lot of information.

I had Tulsa Pro, I posted a long thread you can search and find.
https://connect.mayoclinic.org/discussion/tulsa-pro-initial-experience/
Hifu only works if the lesion is near the rectum. Hifu can only be done up to a certain size usually, some places might exclude you, though your BPH isn't that bad, hifu is kind of very limited.

Keep in mind with Tulsa Pro they changed it in 2023 to take longer and keep the heat up for a longer time to fully cook the lesions. Many results posted, other people posting here or other groups, papers published, recurrence rates, these all may differ because the procedure was changed in 2023. I had Tulsa Pro just after the change.

I had Tulsa Pro last July. So far I couldn’t be happier as my PSA dropped from 8.6 to 0.68 and has remained there for 9 months. I thought I wanted HIFU at first, but I did not qualify because my prostate was anterior. I then found Tulsa Pro and I’m glad I did. Tulsa Pro uses the same high intensity focused ultrasound, however, it is done thru the urethra and in an MRI where everything is monitored in real time. I have posted dozens of comments on my experience. Just click on my profile to see them.

I had TULSA-PRO procedure at Mayo Rochester on October 8, 2024. Had 50% of a 100cc prostate ablated in the process, including one lesion of grade 2, Gleason 3+4 (about 10% 4). Had my 6 month checkup in April and my first MRI. So far, so good. Since I still have a functioning prostate of about the normal size now for a my my age of 78, my PSA has been stable at 1.3. (had a 3 month test and a 6 month test). My urine stream has greatly improved as well since my prostate is no longer "enlarged". No incontinence, no loss of sexual function, except semen production is significantly less, which was to be expected with all of the ablation performed. So far, I'm very pleased with the results. There's some good information on TULSA-PRO at the Prostate Cancer Research Institute website: pcri.org. And if you can find any lectures by Dr. Klotz on TULSA-PRO that would be a good resource as well. Dr. Klotz helped advance the use of TULSA-PRO in Canada and the USA. His lectures and his knowledge are excellent. And, I believe that should this cancer return (odds are roughly the same as they are with other forms of treatment), I still have available to me all other treatment options. However, at my 6 month checkup at Mayo my doctor didn't seem keen on doing TULSA-PRO a second time. He was leaning more toward radiation. I didn't press him on that at the time.

As it's been said many times in this forum and in lectures from pcri.org..........get second and third opinions: know what you're dealing with, so that you make the best possible treatment decision. Have your treatment choice performed at a center of excellence by a highly experienced doctor in that procedure in order to maximize for the best possible results.

Calcium deposits in the prostate make this procedure less likely to be applicable as they "block/reflect" the high frequency ultra sound waves from hitting the target. The day before my procedure I had to undergo an CT scan to make sure my prostate had no calcium deposits that would interfere.

I had TULSA PRO Nov. 24 and I'm very pleased with the result. I didn't need any pain meds and still don't know what a bladder spasm is since I didn't have any. Two weeks with a catheter was the inconvenient part. No incontinence or other side effects. My sex life is as good or better than before the procedure except for dry ejaculation. Local Drs. wanted to do radical surgery or radiation with good chance of incontinence and destruction of my sex life. They never heard of TULSA. I did my research and found the nearest Dr. 4 hours away. I was willing to do nothing if the result was to be incontinent. I'm 78. When I asked the local Dr. about what surgery would do to my sex life he looked at me and said,"I'm surprised that you care about that anymore." I call it age bias from the medical field. Dr. Stratton at OU Stephenson Cancer Center, did the procedure and was very pleased with the outcome. He offered Viagra which I accepted. I go back for a check up and MRI in June. My post op PSA was 0.7. It was 7+ and increasing before the procedure. The con is that I paid out of pocked because ins. doesn't cover it.