Traditional liver surgery in 2020 required weeks of painful recovery for Wess, but histotripsy allowed him to return home the same evening. The procedure avoids the heat, needles, and ionizing energy of conventional cancer treatments. Instead, Dr. Peter DiPasco of Mercy Hospital St. Louis used an ultrasonic system to destroy the malignancy without ever making an incision. While the actual treatment lasted only 35 minutes, the process required precise digital mapping of the tumor before the sound waves were deployed through a water-filled membrane.
Missouri Patient Avoids Major Surgery With New Sound-Wave Treatment
Mike Wess, 82, faced a second liver tumor six years after an grueling, seven-hour operation left him with a massive abdominal incision. This time, however, the St. Louis resident bypassed the scalpel entirely, becoming the first patient in Missouri to undergo histotripsy, a non-invasive procedure that liquefies tumors using focused sound waves.
For Wess, the contrast between the two experiences was profound. His wife, Lillian, noted that he returned to his normal routine immediately, sleeping well and eating without restriction. Dr. DiPasco compared the technical preparation to photography, where the final action is instantaneous but relies on meticulous setup. Mercy Hospital St. Louis is now among the first 100 U.S. facilities to adopt this technology, with clinical trials currently exploring its application for renal tumors and inoperable pancreatic adenocarcinoma.
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