Tumor Ablation

Tumor Ablation

Treatment for:

Tumors in the liver, kidney, bone, soft tissue and other locations

Why it’s done:

Percutaneous ablation allows minimally invasive destruction of tumors without the need for open surgery.

How it’s done:

An interventional radiologist uses ultrasound, CT, or both to guide specialized needles into the tumor. The needles use heat (microwave or radiofrequency ablation), cold (cryoablation), or rapid-pulsed electricity (irreversible electroporation) to kill the tumor without requiring open surgery.

Level of anesthesia:

Conscious sedation or general anesthesia

Risks:

Bleeding, infection, damage to surrounding structures, organ damage, rare tumor seeding

Post-procedure:

After ablation, patients proceed to the post-anesthesia care unit for recovery. A post-procedure imaging scan may be performed to determine the effect of the ablation. Most patients are discharged home the same day. Antibiotics and/or pain medications may be prescribed to prevent pain or infection after the procedure.

Follow-up:

A follow-up CT or MRI is usually performed 1 month after treatment along with clinic visit in interventional radiology to determine the results and allow for further treatment planning.