Massive hepatic infarction after pure ethanol injection and radiofrequency ablation therapy for hepatocellular...

Hepatic infarction is a rare complication of radiofrequency ablation (RFA) for hepatocellular carcinoma. Hepatic infarction is thought to be caused by injury to either the hepatic arterial system or to both the hepatic arterial and portal venous supply. The efficacy of RFA is reduced in the presence of nearby vessels larger than 3 mm in diameter due to a heat-sink effect. Such an effect can be diminished by performing percutaneous pure ethanol injection prior to RFA. Although larger vessels are unlikely to be ablated or obliterated by RFA alone, it can happen and cause massive liver damage, particularly if RFA was preceded by other therapies such as percutaneous pure ethanol injection and/or transcatheter arterial embolization. Here, we report a case of massive liver infarction after sequential use of both treatment modalities for hepatocellular carcinoma.