Radio-frequency of liver tumor 

RFA or radio-frequency ablation

It is a technique for ablation with radio waves. This technique causes very significant result in medicine such as the ablation of malignant lesions in the liver, bone, lung, breast, etc.

How is it performed?

In this method, RF electrode needles will be inserted into the tumor guided by ultrasound or CT scan. Then, the living cells of the tumor will be ablated at the site by getting connected to RF generator and heating.

Priority of radio-frequency to surgery

In cases where the lesions is unavailable and the surgery has no desired results for the patient, radio-frequency will be considered the best treatment method.

The desired outcome of treatment

If there are limited lesions in the liver (lee than 2 lesions) and they are small (lees than 5 cm), and if there are no lesions outside the liver or they are under control, the desired results can be achieved from this surgery.

Duration of the surgery

It takes 1 to 2 hours given the number of lesions.

Anesthesia during the surgery

This surgery requires anesthesia. That is because tumor ablation is performed with radio waves at high temperatures between 90-105ºC. This temperature is not tolerable and requires light anesthesia.

Preparations for the surgery

– Full fasting for about 6 hours before the surgery
– Taking shower and shaving the abdomen and both legs
– having medical record related to the disease
– Performing blood coagulation test
– Having a companion for doing the paperwork

Necessary examinations before the surgery

Your liver function should be examined by the doctor at this clinic.
If you have heart disease or diabetes, make sure to notify the doctor so that necessary measures would be taken.
If you are taking medicines such as Aspirin, Warfarin, and Plevix, make sure to keep your doctor informed.

Post-operative hospitalization

This surgery is usually performed on an outpatient basis and the patient will be discharged after 2 to 4 hours.
Depending on the patients conditions, he/she may require hospitalization for 24 hours.

Necessary post-operative follow-ups and measure

In order to assess the success of the treatment, one month after the surgery, RFA, CT scan, or MRI of the liver will be performed at this clinic. The results will be compared with pre-operative medical records and further necessary actions will be taken for treatment.

Tumor recurrence

Tumor ablation doses not mean the complete disappearance of the tumor and complete treatment because cancer cells may survive on tumor margins that leads to tumor recurrence. Thus, the patient will be examined in the next controls and, in case of recurrence, the tumor residues will be ablated again.

Post-operative bed rest

After the surgery, the patient will feel weakness, lethargy, anorexia, fever and, in some cases, pain in the shoulder area. These symptoms may last for 10 days. So, the patient will need to take rest for 7 to 10 days.

Armed with modern facilities and state-of-the-art medical knowledge of its highly experienced specialists, Pardise Noor Medical Imaging Center allows the patients who have gone abroad for performing this surgery to continue their treatment at this center.