Durham Regional Hospital Health Spot- Radiofrequency Ablation

Durham, NC- Radiofrequency Ablation (RFA) is a procedure that uses radiofrequency energy to heat and destroy diseased tissue, leaving the surrounding healthy tissue unharmed. This procedure offers patients a minimally invasive outpatient procedure that can be combined with other treatment options if necessary.

RFA is performed using ultrasound or computed tomography (CT) to guide a small needle into the tumor. The needle then applies heat to destroy the diseased tissue. Durham Regional Hospital offers RFA to remove tumors in the liver, kidney, lung and bones.

"Radiofrequency Ablation provides immediate tumor destruction in a minimally invasive procedure. The recovery period is quick, 90 percent of patients go home the same day, usually within several hours and it is a much safer procedure overall," says Stephen P. Loehr, M.D., Interventional Radiologist at Durham Regional Hospital.

RFA has a high success rate, improving the lives of many. According to Loehr, "with tumors three centimeters or less the technical success rate approaches 100 percent." This procedure can be repeated, as needed, to manage a reoccurring disease. RFA eliminates existing tumors, it does not prevent new tumors from forming.

Risks associated with RFA are essentially the same as that of a biopsy, including bleeding or infection. In the case of RFA in the lung, an additional risk may be a collapsed lung. Patients are not encouraged to undergo RFA if they have tumors greater than six centimeters, their tumors are too numerous or if it would be unsafe to access the tumor with a needle.

The main goal of RFA is to eliminate the tumor or tumors, however, at times RFA is performed for palliative or painkilling reasons. "For some patients, Radiofrequency Ablation is performed to reduce the bulk in the affected area to make the last years of their life more comfortable," says Loehr.

There is also a growing area of interest in cryotherapy, a treatment that freezes tumors to eliminate them, as opposed to burning like with RFA. Cryotherapy is performed at Durham Regional Hospital to treat prostate disease. According to Loehr, "RFA and cryotherapy are the wave of the future. We can treat patients before their disease spreads and allow them to have a minimally invasive outpatient procedure so they do not have to undergo surgery for something more minor."

For more information on Radiofrequency Ablation or to find out if this is a treatment option for you, call 919-403-4DRH.