[Potentials of interventional radiology: percutaneous radiofrequency ablation]

The efficacy of the treatment of hepatic malignancies has improved, mostly due to the physical procedures which affect the tumors locally. The authors performed 210 radio-frequency ablations in 1.38 patients. They recommend this procedure based on their experiences. RF treatment is performed together with other therapeutical procedures done by cooperation of oncology clinic. The main indication for the treatment of tumors is, lesions less than 4 cm in diameter and the number of masses is less than 4. The treatment can be performed by CT guidance and is documented well. The applied RF generator is made by Radionics, electrodes are cooled. In 68% of the tumors they achieved complete necrosis using this procedure. After the intervention patients experienced no serious complications. The only side effects were abdominal pain and discomfort. RF tumor ablation is an important and effective procedure in the treatment of hepatic tumors.