Dr. George Suarez, a Miami-based urologist, is the pioneer for a newly FDA approved treatment for prostate cancer called HIFU (high intensity focused ultrasound).
HIFU received FDA approval in October 2015 and is a precise, targeted, non-invasive therapy for localized prostate cancer that uses ultrasound energy to heat and destroy specifically targeted areas of tissue without damage to surrounding tissue. This outpatient procedure allows patients to return home the same day and significantly decreases the rate of prostate cancer recurrence.
During HIFU, the sound waves pass through healthy tissue without causing damage. At the focal point of the sound waves the tissue temperature rises to 90-100 degrees Celsius destroying the targeted tissue while preserving the surrounding healthy organs.
After administering HIFU for more than a decade, Dr. Suarez noted a significantly decreased risk of impotence from 80 percent to 2 percent and from 20 percent to a mere 0.4 percent in urinary issues when compared to other prostate cancer treatments, such as surgical removal of the organ or radiation.
In addition, studies show a 95.4 percent decrease in PSA levels from baseline which indicates successful ablation of the prostate. A durable response was also seen in 80 percent of patients with low risk disease at 10 years of followup.
Dr. Suarez is considered the world-wide leading expert in HIFU having helped pioneered the recent FDA approval. In addition, he has performed over 2,000 HIFU treatments — more than any other doctor in the world — including the first HIFU treatment in North America. He has successfully trained several hundred physicians throughout the world in the use of this breakthrough treatment and wrote the HIFU physician’s training manual.
In 2003, Dr. Suarez established the first HIFU facility in North America at the Universidad Madre y Maestra, Santiago, Dominican Republic. He subsequently established similar HIFU facilities throughout Canada, Mexico, South America and the Caribbean, all countries in which HIFU was approved based on European (CE) approval that dates back to 1996.
“From the very beginning, since designing the FDA trial protocols, I never doubted that HIFU would one day receive FDA approval,” Dr. Suarez said. “Having had the opportunity to perform the procedure outside the U.S. for over a decade has provided me invaluable experience, knowledge and an advantage to teach others that are just now becoming familiar with the technology about the art form of operating this device and performing the treatment.”
HIFU represents an historic advancement in the treatment of prostate cancer, which affects hundreds of thousands of men in the United States. With one in seven men being diagnosed in their lifetime, prostate cancer is the most common non-skin cancer among American men. The American Cancer Society estimates that approximately 220,800 men are diagnosed with prostate cancer each year, with six out of 10 cases diagnosed in men 65 or older.
Dr. Suarez’s new facility, International HIFU Center-MIAMI is located at The Miami Sunset Surgical Center, 7190 SW 87 Ave, Suite 403, Miami, Florida 33173. It will house the latest, state-of-the-art generation Sonablate and will offer the groundbreaking HIFU procedure starting January 2016.
For more information on Dr. George Suarez, visit www.hifumedicalexpert.com. To schedule a consultation, call 305-595-0199 or 1-877-949-5325.
