Related Experiment Video
Updated: Aug 16, 2025
Thermal Ablation for the Treatment of Abdominal Tumors
Published on: March 7, 2011
Rigorous radiofrequency ablation can completely treat low-risk small papillary thyroid carcinoma without affecting
Xinyang Li1,2, Jie Li3, Zhi Qiao4
1School of Medicine, Nankai University, No.94 Weijin Road, Nankai District, Tianjin, 300071, China.
Objective:
Minimally invasive therapies are gaining interest because of the indolence and excellent prognosis of low-risk papillary thyroid carcinoma (PTC). This study aimed to evaluate the outcomes of radiofrequency ablation (RFA) for low-risk PTC and to determine the effects of ablation on subsequent surgical management.
Methods:
A medical record review was conducted including patients with low-risk PTC who underwent surgery after RFA from July 2015 to July 2021. Demographic characteristics, tumor characteristics, ablation procedures, surgical findings, and pathological changes were reviewed for all patients. The primary outcomes were surgical and pathological changes in post-ablation patients.
Results:
Of the 10 patients with 11 PTCs, 9 (90%) were women; the median (SD) patient age was 41.5 (8.2) years. The maximum diameter range of PTCs was 3.0-12.0 mm. All 10 patients underwent rigorous RFA procedure involving a four-step approach, and had received surgical management. Intraoperatively, no patients had muscle and nerve injuries, and mild adhesion of the post-ablation lesions with the anterior cervical muscle was observed in two cases. Histopathologically, no residual PTCs were observed in the ablated areas in all patients. Central lymph node metastasis (LNM) was found in three (30.0%, pN1a). Occult PTCs were observed in three cases (30.0%).
Conclusions:
Our findings suggest that low-risk small PTCs can be completely treated with rigorous RFA, which does not affect subsequent surgical management, if necessary. RFA may be a treatment option, but occult PTCs and clinically negative LNMs may be overlooked. Long-term follow-up data are necessary to further identify its efficacy.
Key Points:
• RFA can completely treat low-risk small PTC. • RFA does not affect the subsequent surgical management if necessary. • Because occult PTCs and clinically negative LNMs may be overlooked by RFA, long-term follow-up data are necessary to further identify its efficacy.
More Related Videos
04:58Reduced Procedure Time and Variability with Active Esophageal Cooling During Radiofrequency Ablation for Atrial Fibrillation
Published on: August 25, 2022
04:01Transoral Robotic Total Thyroidectomy and Bilateral Central Regional Lymph Node Dissection for Papillary Thyroid Carcinoma
Published on: September 15, 2023