--- title: "Histotripsy for Liver Tumors: Treating Without Surgery | Sutter Health" description: "Histotripsy treats liver tumors or masses for which there were otherwise no options, and it is FDA approved for any lesion in the liver. Sutter Health was one of the first places in the country to get one of these machines. Dr. Casey Ward describes the cases it is for: things that are inside the liver, very high up, next to very critical structures where the alternative would be a transplant or a big liver resection. Patients come with benign liver lesions, such as an adenoma, and with metastatic cancers. About 10 years ago, the University of Michigan found that turning an ultrasound up very high makes tiny bubbles that shear tissue while leaving the critical structures around it intact. The care team can 3D map your tumor, so the surgeon knows where the blood vessels are, where the bile ducts are, and can treat the tumor with a little bit of a margin. Each ablation takes about 20 minutes per tumor, so the whole procedure can take anywhere from about 45 minutes to an hour, depending on how many tumors a patient has. Patients go home about an hour or two after the procedure. At CPMC, the surgeons and the interventional radiologists do it together, so a patient for whom histotripsy is not the right answer can still be connected to the rest of the treatment care that Sutter offers. Chapters 0:00 What histotripsy treats 0:34 How focused ultrasound breaks down a tumor 1:00 How long the procedure takes and going home 1:22 What is known about safety so far 1:39 Surgeons and interventional radiologists together To learn more about histotripsy and liver tumor care at Sutter Health, visit https://www.sutterhealth.org/services/liver-bile-duct-cancer. This video is educational and is not a substitute for professional medical advice. #Histotripsy #LiverTumors #CancerTreatment" url: "https://www.sutterhealth.org/health/videos/histotripsy-for-liver-tumors-treating-without-surgery-brightcove-6385410683112" --- 1. [Home](https://www.sutterhealth.org/) / 2. [Health and wellness](https://www.sutterhealth.org/health) / 3. [Videos](https://www.sutterhealth.org/health/videos) / 4. Histotripsy for Liver Tumors: Treating Without Surgery # Histotripsy for Liver Tumors: Treating Without Surgery * * * October 1, 2026 Contributors: [Casey J. Ward, M.D.](https://www.sutterhealth.org/find-provider/dr-casey-j-ward-1046250824), [Brian K. Bronzo, M.D.](https://www.sutterhealth.org/find-provider/dr-brian-k-bronzo-1046233253) Histotripsy treats liver tumors or masses for which there were otherwise no options, and it is FDA approved for any lesion in the liver. Sutter Health was one of the first places in the country to get one of these machines. Dr. Casey Ward describes the cases it is for: things that are inside the liver, very high up, next to very critical structures where the alternative would be a transplant or a big liver resection. Patients come with benign liver lesions, such as an adenoma, and with metastatic cancers. About 10 years ago, the University of Michigan found that turning an ultrasound up very high makes tiny bubbles that shear tissue while leaving the critical structures around it intact. The care team can 3D map your tumor, so the surgeon knows where the blood vessels are, where the bile ducts are, and can treat the tumor with a little bit of a margin. Each ablation takes about 20 minutes per tumor, so the whole procedure can take anywhere from about 45 minutes to an hour, depending on how many tumors a patient has. Patients go home about an hour or two after the procedure. At CPMC, the surgeons and the interventional radiologists do it together, so a patient for whom histotripsy is not the right answer can still be connected to the rest of the treatment care that Sutter offers. Chapters 0:00 What histotripsy treats 0:34 How focused ultrasound breaks down a tumor 1:00 How long the procedure takes and going home 1:22 What is known about safety so far 1:39 Surgeons and interventional radiologists together To learn more about histotripsy and liver tumor care at Sutter Health, visit https://www.sutterhealth.org/services/liver-bile-duct-cancer. This video is educational and is not a substitute for professional medical advice. #Histotripsy #LiverTumors #CancerTreatment ## Explore related topics [Liver and Bile Duct](https://www.sutterhealth.org/health/articles?facets=%5B%7B%22i%22%3A%22c_healthTopics.name%22%2C%22v%22%3A%5B%22Liver+and+Bile+Duct%22%5D%7D%2C%7B%22i%22%3A%22builtin.entityType%22%2C%22v%22%3A%5B%22Brightcove+Video%22%5D%7D%5D&limit=10&verticalKey=health-and-wellness) ## Meet our care team ![Casey J. Ward, M.D.](http://a.mktgcdn.com/p/RBixtPOwzxpXEXigUO1pZN4y3qa4ltCF3NYWKFb2chQ/480x480.png) [Casey J. Ward, M.D.](https://www.sutterhealth.org/find-provider/dr-casey-j-ward-1046250824) Surgery Liver Transplant ![Brian K. Bronzo, M.D.](http://a.mktgcdn.com/p/s_FeS_yO2FgTMSesEnFsFmDzzGfTsJy4V-eOJ75fG44/1.0000/191x191.png) [Brian K. Bronzo, M.D.](https://www.sutterhealth.org/find-provider/dr-brian-k-bronzo-1046233253) Radiology ## Disclaimer Each individual's treatment and/or results may vary based upon circumstances and the healthcare provider's medical judgement. Testimonials or statements made by any person(s) within this site are not intended to guarantee outcomes or substitute for medical advice. ```json {"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"MedicalOrganization","name":"Sutter Health","@id":"https://www.sutterhealth.org/#medicalorganization","url":"https://www.sutterhealth.org","logo":"https://www.sutterhealth.org/static/images/sutter-health-logo.svg","address":{"@type":"PostalAddress","streetAddress":"2200 River Plaza Drive","addressLocality":"Sacramento","addressRegion":"CA","postalCode":"95833","addressCountry":"US"},"areaServed":{"@type":"AdministrativeArea","name":"California"},"sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/SutterHealth","https://www.instagram.com/sutterhealth/","https://x.com/SutterHealth","https://www.youtube.com/sutterhealth","https://www.linkedin.com/company/sutter-health","https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sutter_Health"]} ``` ```json {"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https://www.sutterhealth.org/health/videos/histotripsy-for-liver-tumors-treating-without-surgery-brightcove-6385410683112#breadcrumblist","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https://www.sutterhealth.org/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Health and wellness","item":"https://www.sutterhealth.org/health"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"Videos","item":"https://www.sutterhealth.org/health/videos"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":4,"name":"Histotripsy for Liver Tumors: Treating Without Surgery"}]} ``` ```json {"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"Histotripsy for Liver Tumors: Treating Without Surgery","thumbnailUrl":"https://cf-images.us-east-1.prod.boltdns.net/v1/static/817826402001/62438950-f41e-43ea-97c2-3ef2ed04aacb/c9f0d9c0-de7d-48e4-b070-6bc3fb15694d/1280x720/match/image.jpg","uploadDate":"2025-11-21T18:19:02.988Z","embedUrl":"https://players.brightcove.net/817826402001/79bcaa57-54d7-453c-9f1f-8ab3ef7b15de/index.html?videoId=6385410683112","description":"Discover how Sutter is using histotripsy, which uses focused ultrasound to break down tumors without surgery. Learn about its benefits, safety, and how it supports collaboration between specialists for better patient outcomes.","duration":"PT2M17S","transcript":"[INSPIRATIONAL MUSIC]\nCASEY WARD: Histotripsy technology\nhas been a game changer.\nSutter Health was one of the first places in the country\nto get one of these machines.\nThis is really for tumors or masses\nthat we otherwise had no options.\nThese are things that are inside the liver,\nvery high up, next to very critical structures\nthat, normally, I would have to either do\na transplant or a big liver resection.\nPatients come for all different things,\npatients who have benign lesions in their liver, like an adenoma.\nOr this can come from people who have metastatic cancers.\nHistotripsy is FDA approved for any lesion in the liver\nwhatsoever.\nAbout 10 years ago, the University of Michigan\nfigured out that if you turn an ultrasound up really high,\nyou can actually make these little bubbles.\nThey actually figured out that it sheared tissue\nand then it left all of the critical structures around it\nintact.\nAnd we can 3D map your tumor.\nSo I know exactly where the blood vessels are,\nwhere the bile ducts are, where everything's at.\nAnd that way, I can treat the tumor.\nAnd I can make a perfect circle exactly\naround the tumor with a little bit of a margin.\nThe whole procedure to actually do one ablation\ntakes about 20 minutes for each tumor.\nSo that can take anywhere from about 45 minutes to an hour,\ndepending on how many tumors they have.\nThis is on a whole different level.\nThis is taking it to a point where the patient really\nhas no incisions, no pain.\nAnd so for us, the recovery period is remarkable.\nSo these patients go home about an hour or two\nafter the procedure.\nNow we're getting long enough out\nthat we know that it's not only just\nsafe, it's absolutely effective and that it's long lasting.\nSo now we can start saying, OK, what other organs\ncould we benefit from?\nWe can treat the whole patient from start to finish.\nAnd being at a place like CPMC and Sutter\nis amazing because you have experts in every field\navailable.\nThere's things that interventional radiology\nhas been doing for 20 years.\nAnd there's things for us, as surgeons,\nwe've been doing for a long time.\nSo the surgeons and the interventional radiologists\ndo it together.\nSo I can really say, hey, histotripsy might not\nbe the best for you, but it might be this person.\nAnd that way, we can really plug people\nin to that whole treatment care that Sutter offers.\nWe're starting to move what we always\nthought was, it has to be this way, to really,\nwhat could it be?\nSutter is all about that and is all in on innovation\nand, What's the next thing?\nHow do we build that? with the patient at the very forefront.\n[INSPIRATIONAL MUSIC]"} ```