In 1984, patients with kidney stones faced few options; the patient could eventually pass the stone or face invasive surgery--both excruciatingly painful choices. Fortunately, a young German urologist named Christian Chaussy was pioneering the use of a device--the lithotripter--that painlessly pulverized kidney stones using shock waves, thereby avoiding the invasive experience and protracted recovery from kidney stone surgery.

The innovative technique caught the attention of Indianapolis medical scientist, entrepreneur, and civic leader Dr. Beurt SerVaas--who read an obscure reference about the use of shock waves to disintegrate stones into sand. Having suffered from painful kidney stones himself. Dr. SerVaas was so intrigued by the potential to save both suffering and healthcare costs that he traveled to Germany to witness firsthand the lithotripter in action and meet the brains behind the machine--Dr. Chaussy. Convinced of its tremendous benefits, Dr. SerVaas returned home with a passion to bring the lithotripter to the United States.

Due diligence and determination paid off!

Dr. SerVaas forged a collaboration between Methodist Hospital in Indianapolis and Germany, leading to the opening of the first center of lithotripsy in the United States. In 1984, urologist James Lingeman at Methodist Hospital performed the first lithotripsy procedure using extracorporeal shock wave lithotripsy (ESWL) to pulverize kidney stones. Word spread. Soon people from around the globe began flocking to Indianapolis to take advantage of this minimally invasive method.

Today, ESWL remains the most frequently used treatment for kidney stones in the world. Since its introduction, an estimated one million people in the United States alone have undergone lithotripsy.

HIFU
Innovator Chaussy, now a professor of urology and chairman of the department of urology, Staedt. K1inikum Muenchen-Harlaching in Germany, was delighted with Dr. SerVaas' enthusiasm for a promising alternative to radical surgery for men suffering from prostate cancer. The procedure is called transrectal high intensity focused ultrasound (HIFU). First developed as a treatment for benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH), HIFU has been used successfully in Europe, Canada, Australia, Russia, and other Asian countries on more than 10,000 men with early prostate cancer.

"After ten years' experience of treatment and personally treating more than 1,600 patients, HIFU offers a viable alternative to radical prostatectomy, especially for patients who have some form of risk factor that precludes open surgery or for patients who do not want to undergo surgery." Dr. Chaussy told the Post. "The future and longer follow-up will show how much HIFU can perhaps substitute for radical prostatectomy."

HIFU is performed under epidural anesthesia. A probe is then placed into the rectum, and multiple Images of the prostate gland are retrieved and reviewed. After analysis, the clinician positions the treatment probe to administer high intensity focused ultrasound. High-energy ultrasound waves are focused through the rectal wall to the targeted prostate area, while a cooling balloon surrounding the probe protects the rectal tissue from the high temperature. The entire procedure typically takes between two to four hours, depending upon gland size, and can be repeated if needed.

The treatment is recommended for patients with localized cancer--what is termed stage T1 or T2--who are looking for an alternative to surgery or are not candidates for a prostatectomy because of age or compounding health conditions.

In the United States, investigators are presently recruiting patients to test the Ablatherm HIFU device for the treatment of low-risk, localized prostate cancer.