When surgery is not an option, RFA can eliminate tumors without the side effects of other techniques. Here’s how it works.

Seek
RFA is a very precise procedure. Using an imaging guidance system such as ultrasound, computed tomorgraphy (CT), or magnetic resonance (MR), the physician places a slender probe directly into the tumor. This ensures that treatment will focus on the diseased area. Once the probe is in position, a bouquet of very thin, flexible electrodes are extended from the end of the probe into the tissue to encompass the tumor.

Heat
Using a radiofrequency generator, the doctor then allows a carefully-controlled amount of energy to flow through the electrodes into the tissue. This causes the tissue to heat up. Heating is sustained for a predetermined length of time, usually just a few minutes. Temperature is constantly measured by tiny thermometers at the tips of the electrodes.

Destroy
This heat kills and destroys the tumor and the destroyed tissue is absorbed into normal body wastes.

About Radiofrequency Energy
Radiofrequency is a type of electrical energy that has been used in medical procedures for decades. At the most basic level, this electrical energy is used to create heat. The heat is created in a specific location, at a specific temperature, for a specific period of time, and ultimately results in the death of unwanted tissue.

How Heat Destroys Tumors
During a radiofrequency procedure, an ablation probe is placed directly into the target tissue. An array of several small, curved electrodes are deployed from the end of the probe into the tissue. The generator is turned on and target temperatures are input. The radiofrequency energy flows through the electrodes, causing ionic agitation, and therefore friction, in the nearby tissue. This friction creates heat, and once sufficient temperatures have been reached, the heat kills the target tissue within a few minutes. Thermocouples (tiny thermometers) incorporated into the tips of the electrodes allow continuous monitoring of tissue temperatures, and power is automatically adjusted so that the target temperatures remain constant. Ultrasound is typically used to monitor the treatment process.

Heat is a very effective means of killing tissue. As tissue temperature rises above 113° F (50° C), protein is permanently damaged and cell membranes fuse. The process is rapid, typically requiring less than 10-15 minutes exposure time for a 3cm ablation.

Depending on the power applied and the resistance of the tissues, heat decreases rapidly at a specific distance from the electrode tip, limiting the ablation size. The size of the ablated area is determined largely by the size of the probe, the temperature of the tissue, and the duration of time the energy is applied. There is a sharp boundary between dead tissue and unaffected surrounding tissue. Thus unwanted tissue can be ablated without much sacrifice of surrounding normal tissue.

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