{"id":757394,"date":"2026-07-11T21:39:15","date_gmt":"2026-07-11T21:39:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/757394\/"},"modified":"2026-07-11T21:39:15","modified_gmt":"2026-07-11T21:39:15","slug":"game-changer-new-cancer-treatment-turns-major-surgery-into-an-outpatient-procedure","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/757394\/","title":{"rendered":"&#8216;Game changer&#8217;: New cancer treatment turns major surgery into an outpatient procedure"},"content":{"rendered":"<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">When Mike Wess underwent surgery to remove a liver tumor several years ago, the operation lasted five to six hours. Recovery took weeks. He spent days in the hospital and faced a long rehabilitation.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">So, when doctors discovered another cancerous tumor on his liver at age 82, Wess assumed another major surgery was his only option.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Instead, he became one of the first patients at\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.mercy.net\/newsroom\/2026-03-30\/mercy-st--louis-uses-sci-fi-like-tech-to-destroy-liver-tumors-wi\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener nofollow\">Mercy Hospital in St. Louis<\/a>\u00a0to receive a groundbreaking treatment called histotripsy, a noninvasive procedure that uses focused sound waves to destroy tumors without a single incision.<\/p>\n<p>\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-block-san-app-download__qr\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/app-download-block-qr-code.png\" alt=\"QR code for SAN app download\" width=\"80\" height=\"80\"\/><\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-san-app-download__title\">\n\t\t\tDownload the SAN app today to stay up-to-date with Unbiased. Straight Facts\u2122.\t\t<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-san-app-download__subtitle\">\n\t\t\tPoint phone camera here\t\t<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cI was amazed,\u201d Wess said. \u201cWith my age, I didn\u2019t think there was much chance they\u2019d pick me. I was thrilled, but a little apprehensive because I wasn\u2019t sure what to expect.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The treatment lasted about 35 minutes. The only thing Wess remembers is being wheeled into the operating room and seeing the machine.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cThe next thing I knew,\u201d he said, \u201cI was in recovery.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u2018This can\u2019t be real\u2019<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">For Wess\u2019 wife, Lillian, the difference between the two experiences was striking.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The first liver surgery required weeks of caregiving and monitoring. Wess struggled with pain, limited mobility and eating. As an active person who had already undergone spinal surgery, knee replacements and skin cancer procedures, recovery was especially challenging.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cWith this, there was nothing,\u201d Lillian Wess said. \u201cHe was fine right after.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The couple said they were stunned when doctors told them Mike Wess could return to normal activities almost immediately.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cAfter this,\u201d his wife recalled the surgeon saying, \u201cif you want to play golf, go play golf. If you do gardening, go gardening.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">When the procedure was finished, Wess didn\u2019t head straight home to bed. Instead, he visited family and ran errands.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cOur son kept looking at him,\u201d Lillian Wess said. \u201cHe was like, \u2018This can\u2019t be real.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The technology behind outcomes like Wess\u2019 is drawing attention from cancer specialists nationwide.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.mercy.net\/doctor\/peter-joseph-dipasco-md\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener nofollow\">Dr. Peter DiPasco<\/a>, a surgical oncologist at Mercy and one of the physicians leading the program, said he was initially skeptical about histotripsy.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cIt sounds too good to be true,\u201d DiPasco recalled saying.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><a href=\"https:\/\/histosonics.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener nofollow\">Histotripsy<\/a>\u00a0uses focused ultrasound waves delivered through a water-filled device positioned above the patient. The sound waves converge at a precise target inside the body, creating microscopic bubbles that rapidly expand and collapse millions of times per second.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Those collapsing bubbles mechanically destroy tumor tissue, effectively liquefying it while leaving critical structures such as blood vessels and bile ducts intact.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cThe tumor is turned into liquid and melted away,\u201d DiPasco said. \u201cThe important stuff is left behind.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Over time, the body absorbs and removes the cellular debris.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cIf you compare MRI images before treatment and six to nine months afterward, it\u2019s almost like somebody took an eraser and erased the tumor out of the liver,\u201d DiPasco said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The technology received federal approval for treating liver tumors and is being adopted at a growing number of medical centers. DiPasco said Mercy has already treated several patients and expects the technology to expand to other organs, including the kidney, pancreas and prostate, as research and regulatory approvals continue.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">For older patients or those with serious medical conditions, the benefits can be especially significant.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cPatients who couldn\u2019t tolerate a major operation now have another option,\u201d DiPasco said. \u201cThe fact that it\u2019s an outpatient procedure and patients can walk out of the hospital the same day has been a major game changer.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Round out your reading<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"When Mike Wess underwent surgery to remove a liver tumor several years ago, the operation lasted five to&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":757395,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[59],"tags":[97,252,253],"class_list":["post-757394","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-health-care","tag-health","tag-health-care","tag-healthcare"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/757394","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=757394"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/757394\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/757395"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=757394"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=757394"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=757394"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}