Thermal percutaneous ablation of a liver tumor is a minimally invasive therapeutic procedure, which is performed with a special needle, which generates heat at the tip of an area of several centimeters and thus destroys the tumor tissue.
The needle is introduced through a small opening, without the need for a large incision in the abdomen, and is introduced precisely under CT control to the tumor, which is then treated with heat, in order to destroy it and achieve the same therapeutic effect as surgical removal.
When can percutaneous thermal ablation of liver tumors be performed?
Many types of cancer often metastasize to the liver, especially those from the GI tract, breast, lung and pancreas. Metastatic liver cancer is more common than primary malignancy and sometimes occurs as the initial clinical manifestation of cancer originating in the GI tract, breast, lung or pancreas. Treatment depends on the extent of metastasis. In the case of solitary or few metastases, there are several treatment options that can prolong the patient's survival. Surgical resection of liver metastases is often the first choice in therapy, but it is often not available to the patient due to the unfavorable location of the metastases, involvement of both liver lobes or poor general condition after previous operations or other diseases.
There are also primary liver cancers, which, if detected in earlier stages while they are smaller in size, can be relatively easily treated with a minimally invasive ablation procedure.
Ablation is a treatment option for patients who are diagnosed with a tumor up to 5 cm in size or up to 5 smaller tumors. Ablation can have almost the same treatment success as surgery, but is associated with significantly fewer complications, shorter recovery and less damage to liver function.
This type of therapy is especially suitable for patients who, due to other diseases, previous operations or contraindications for general anesthesia, are not ideal candidates for surgery. The advantage of ablation is a shorter recovery, a lower risk of intervention and the possibility of repeating it in several locations in the organ if the disease returns later in another place or at the site of an earlier intervention.
What does thermal ablation of a liver tumor include?
Percutaneous thermal ablation of liver tumors is a minimally invasive method, which means that it is performed by guiding a needle with a diameter of about 1.5-2 mm precisely to the tumor under CT control. After that, the tumor tissue is thermally destroyed with heat of around 100 degrees with an ablation needle for 5-10 minutes, depending on the size of the tumor.
The operation is most often performed under local anesthesia and sedation with the patient lying down.
How to prepare?
When making an appointment for ablation, the patient receives information from the specialist interventional radiologist about the procedure, possible advantages and risks, as well as written instructions on preparation (instructions on laboratory findings that need to be done, on antibiotic protection - prophylaxis and on the procedure if anticoagulant therapy is taken). The procedure is usually performed under local anesthesia and lasts about 60 minutes.
After the procedure, the patient remains in the ward for 12 to 24 hours for observation in order to rule out complications.