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Updated: Aug 15, 2026
Thermal Ablation for the Treatment of Abdominal Tumors
Published on: March 7, 2011
Retroperitoneoscopic-guided radiofrequency ablation of renal tumors
S E Pautler1, C P Pavlovich, I Mikityansky
1Urologic Oncology Branch, National Cancer Institute and the Diagnostic Radiology Department, Warren G. Magnuson Clinical Center, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland 20892, USA.
Objective:
Minimally invasive approaches to the management of renal tumors are being studied intensively in urology. Herein, we describe the use of multiple organ-sparing techniques for the management of tumors in a patient with von Hippel Lindau disease (VHL).
Materials And Methods:
A 42 year-old woman with VHL underwent a right partial adrenalectomy and a left renal radiofrequency ablation (RFA) of two renal tumors.
Results:
A 2.2 cm solitary right adrenal pheochromocytoma was resected using a transperitoneal approach. A retroperitoneal approach to the left kidney was performed and RFA of the two renal tumors completed using sonographic guidance. On the 5-month follow-up CT scan, there was no evidence of residual adrenal tumors and both renal lesions lacked contrast enhancement. No complications occurred during the post-operative recovery.
Conclusions:
Multiple organ-ablative laparoscopic procedures may be performed in a single sitting. Laparoscopic partial adrenalectomy is an effective technique in patients with bilateral tumors or a familial syndrome predisposing to multiple adrenal tumors. Further study of renal RFA is required to assess the long-term durability of the procedure.
