High intensity focused ultrasound (HIFU) - Prostate Cancer Charity

Treatment Specialist Nurses 0800 074 8383 prostatecanceruk.org4What are the side effects?Like all treatments, HIFU can cause side effects.These affect each man differently, and you mightnot get them all.The most common side effects are urinaryproblems and difficulty getting and keeping anerection (erectile dysfunction).You’re more likely to get side effects if youhave repeat HIFU treatment or if you havealready had other treatments for prostatecancer. This is because these treatments mighthave already caused some damage to the areaaround the prostate.Ask your doctor or nurse for more informationabout side effects. They should be able to showyou the results of the treatments they havecarried out and put you in touch with other menwho’ve had the treatment.Short-term side effectsThese can develop soon after your treatment.You might notice blood in your urine while thecatheter is in place. You might also notice somesmall pieces of prostate tissue in your urine forup to two months after your HIFU treatment.This is normal, but you should contact yourdoctor or nurse straight away if you are worriedor if you develop any new symptoms such aspain or a high temperature.HIFU can make your prostate gland swelltemporarily. This might make it hard to passurine for a short while after your catheter hasbeen removed. If you notice your flow of urinehas slowed down or you are unable to urinate,you should get treatment straight away. Contactyour doctor or nurse or go to your hospitalaccident and emergency (A&E) department.They might suggest a temporary catheter untilthe swelling has settled. This is a tube thatyou can use to drain urine from your bladderwhenever you need to go to the toilet. This iscalled self-catheterisation, and you can readmore about it in our Tool Kit fact sheet,Urinary problems after prostate cancertreatment. Some men may have longer-termproblems with a slow flow of urine (see below).Some men get a urine infection after treatment.If you have a urine infection, you might need tourinate more often and with less warning andyou might get a burning feeling when youurinate. Other signs of a urine infection includea high temperature, burning sensation or dark,cloudy or unpleasant smelling urine. Yourdoctor can prescribe antibiotics to treat aurine infection.Longer-term side effectsMost short-term side effects will settle downafter your HIFU treatment, but you can have laterand long-term side effects.Urinary problemsHIFU can cause urinary problems. These includeleaking urine, and problems passing urine. Youmay have symptoms straight after treatment, orthey might develop some time later. Researchsuggests that if you have a large prostate, havinga TURP operation before HIFU treatment mightreduce the risk of having problems urinating.This is because the TURP operation removesany parts of the prostate that are pressing onthe tube which you pass urine through, makingit easier to urinate.Some men find it hard to urinate after thecatheter is removed. This can sometimes be alonger-term problem caused by the urethra orthe opening from the bladder getting narrower. Ifthis becomes a problem, you might be offered aminor procedure to stretch the narrowed area.Some men find they leak urine (urinaryincontinence) after HIFU. This is more likely ifyou have HIFU after external beam radiotherapy.You might find that you leak a little bit when youcough, sneeze or exercise. Or you may need togo more often or more urgently.