I had HIFU in May of 2005- was 55 yrs old at time and other than watchful waiting, this is the ONLY treatment I would have considered- WHY, because of the high % of "problems" associated with the other protocols- Had catheter in for 8 days, resumed sexual relations with wife 10 days after removal of catheter (did not take Viagra or Cialis)- basically no problems I can report- It was remarkably free of any complications- I also did loads of research on the different HIFU machines in use- My advice is to stay away from Sonablate if you are considering this procedure- Look at the Ablatherm unit as they have what I felt is a much better, safer machine. Hope this helps
DOug