Radio frequency ablation liver cancer

Physicians are destroying inoperable liver tumors with radiofrequency ablation. The technique involves inserting a probe into the tumor to emit high-frequency radio waves that boil and dissolve the tumor cells.

The University of Pittsburgh (Pa.) Cancer Institute is one of only a few hospitals that offers the new procedure. One physician there who uses the technique thinks it will be a good alternative to cryosurgery, another treatment method that involves repeated cycles of freezing and thawing.

Radiofrequency ablation has several advantages. First, it takes only about 10 minutes, compared with 40 minutes for cryosurgery. Second, the ablation probe is just one-fourth the size of the one used in cryosurgery. But most important, radiofrequency ablation chars the area, making bleeding less likely. Cryosurgery can't be used around large blood vessels because freezing them can trigger bleeding.

Copyright Springhouse Corporation Nov 1999
Provided by ProQuest Information and Learning Company. All rights Reserved