St. Bernards Performs Arkansas’ First Noninvasive Treatment for Prostate Cancer

JONESBORO, Ark. – St. Bernards Medical Center has successfully performed Arkansas’ first noninvasive treatment of early-stage prostate cancer, lessening the risks and side effects that often come with traditional surgery or radiation.

Urologist Emma Jacobs, M.D. performed the procedure using a technology known as Focal One® Robotic Focal HIFU (high intensity focused ultrasound). Men receiving this treatment go through an outpatient setting where physicians like Dr. Jacobs use a probe to destroy diseased portions of the prostate without damaging surrounding healthy structures. In all, the procedure itself takes about an hour to an hour and a half, and patients likely get discharged the same day.

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Dr. Jacobs said the latest robotic surgery option at St. Bernards raises a standard for prostate cancer treatment in Arkansas and southeast Missouri.

“Before HIFU, men with localized prostate cancer needing treatment underwent prostate removal or radiation which required numerous treatments,” Dr. Jacobs said. “The intermediate approach of Robotic Focal HIFU allows us to destroy only the diseased parts of the prostate. In turn, we minimize potential side effects like ED and incontinence.”

While intended as a single, one-day treatment, Robotic Focal HIFU is a repeatable procedure unlike surgery or radiation. In addition, it does not take away a patient’s ability to have radiation or surgery in the future if needed.

“We’re not making incisions,” Dr. Jacobs said. “Instead, HIFU causes localized heating to destroy the diseased tissue. This ablation process helps us preserve our patients’ quality of life and get them back to their everyday activities more quickly.”

In a recent study* of more than 3,000 patients, Focal One Robotic HIFU compared favorably in cancer control to complete removal of the prostate and some surrounding tissue, known as radical prostatectomy. Meanwhile, HIFU significantly lowered impacts on functional outcomes like urinary incontinence and erectile function compared to patients who received surgery.

• For 125 years, St. Bernards Healthcare has upheld a mission to provide Christ-like healing through education, treatment and health services.
• Founded in 1900 and still sponsored by the Olivetan Benedictine Sisters of Holy Angels Convent in Jonesboro, Arkansas, St. Bernards stands as an independent, non-profit, Catholic healthcare system that serves 23 counties in northeast Arkansas and southeast Missouri.
• The corporate parent of a number of healthcare entities, St. Bernards Healthcare includes three hospitals, including the region’s largest hospital, St. Bernards Medical Center.
• As a regional referral hub, St. Bernards Medical Center offers a 454-bed acute care hospital, complete with the region’s most capable Level III Trauma Center and largest Neonatal Intensive Care Unit.
• St. Bernards Healthcare also includes St. Bernards CrossRidge Community Hospital, a Critical Access Hospital in Wynne, Arkansas, as well as St. Bernards Five Rivers Medical Center in Pocahontas, the first hospital in Arkansas to receive Rural Emergency Hospital designation.
• For more information about the 125-year history of St. Bernards, please visit 1900.stbernards.info.

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