Focused Ultrasound Therapy
Focused ultrasound is a noninvasive, therapeutic technology with the potential to improve the quality of life and decrease the cost of care for patients with chyluria. This novel technology focuses beams of ultrasonic energy precisely and accurately on targets deep in the body without damaging surrounding normal tissue.
How it Works
Where the beams converge, focused ultrasound produces precise ablation (thermal destruction of tissue) enabling the aberrant lymphatic urinary tract connections to be treated without surgery.
Advantages
The primary options for treatment of chyluria include embolization or invasive surgery.
For certain patients, focused ultrasound could provide a noninvasive alternative to surgery with less risk of complications – such as surgical wound healing or infection – at a lower cost. It can reach the desired target without damaging surrounding tissue and is repeatable, if necessary.
Clinical Trials
At the present time, there are no clinical trials recruiting patients for focused ultrasound treatments for chyluria.
Regulatory Approval and Reimbursement
Focused ultrasound treatment for chyluria is not yet approved by regulatory bodies or covered by medical insurance companies.
Notable Papers
Xiao J, Sun T, Zhang S, et al. HIFU, a noninvasive and effective treatment for chyluria: 15 years of experience. Surg Endosc. December 2017. doi:10.1007/s00464-017-6017-8.
Click here for additional references from PubMed.
