Histotripsy is a treatment for liver cancer that uses ultrasound, or sound waves so high we cannot hear them.
During histotripsy, a doctor uses a machine to aim precisely at your liver cancer, then deliver a blast of ultrasound waves that destroys the tumor, turning it into a benign liquid that can be reabsorbed by your body.
Advantages of Histotripsy
The biggest advantage of histotripsy is tumor treatment without surgery.
Liver surgery requires lots of time off work to recover, while most people go home the same day after histotripsy cancer treatment.
The precision of histotripsy is also an advantage. Sound waves used to destroy the tumor are so targeted that healthy tissues (such as blood vessels or liver tissue) are spared.
Histotripsy can also be used in combination with liver surgery, chemo and radiation. This comprehensive approach gives you and your medical team options for treating liver cancer.
Meet our histotripsy providers
Is Histotripsy Right for You?
Right now, histotripsy is only used for patients with liver tumors (either primary or metastatic) smaller than 4 centimeters in size and in a favorable location in your liver. Schedule an appointment to learn more about whether this treatment is right for you.
Histotripsy Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
First, your doctor will make sure you are a good candidate for histotripsy by using an ultrasound machine to look at your tumors. Then, during the procedure, you’ll be put to sleep (general anesthesia). Most people go home the same day.
The doctor will use a specialized machine to deliver a powerful, targeted blast of ultrasonic waves. The ultrasound beam creates small bubbles in your tumor that then burst. As the bubbles form and bust, the tumor is broken apart into debris that your immune system will dispose of naturally.
Some people have pain or soreness after a histotripsy, but much less than with a traditional surgery.
Yes. The machine used to perform histotripsy was approved for use by the Food and Drug Administration in 2023. Rush University Medical Center was the sixth hospital in the country to perform histotripsy.
Yes. At this time, histotripsy can be used for primary or metastatic liver tumors only.
As we test and learn more about this treatment, it will probably be used for cancers in other parts of the body as well.
Histotripsy is for patients with primary or metastatic liver tumors less than 5 centimeters in size, with the tumor in a good place to be treated.
Your doctor will evaluate if you are a good candidate for histotripsy.
Lithotripsy is one way to treat kidney stones. During lithotripsy, a doctor uses a laser or ultrasound beam to pulverize a kidney stone, making it easier to pass.
Lithotripsy and histotripsy both avoid surgery — and use sound waves to destroy something inside of your body. However, histotripsy is much more targeted. And histotripsy destroys cancer cells while lithotripsy breaks apart large, visible stones.
