Radio Frequency Ablation (RFA)
Radio Frequency Ablation (RFA) is a medical procedure. RFA is done through a small probe (electrode) that goes through your skin into a tumour. The electrical current from the probe heats the cancer cells to high temperatures which destroy them. So no cut, no suture, no scar.
It is used to:
- Cure cancer.
- Reduce the size of a tumour
- Relieve the symptoms caused by cancer- pain, obstruction, compression etc
RFA Mainly Treats:
- Primary and secondary liver cancer
- Primary and secondary lung cancer
- Kidney cancer
- Bone osteoid osteoma and metastasis
- Breast lumps
- Thyroid benign and malignant lesions
- Varicose veins
RFA procedure is generally conducted in the outpatient setting, using either local anaesthetics or conscious sedation anaesthesia. Interventional radiologists are the doctors who perform RFA through the skin, under image guidance using ultrasound or computed tomography mostly.
It is very specific for treating the desired tissue without significant collateral damage. RFA is less invasive and less expensive, and to have equivalent safety and efficacy to surgical techniques. RFA is also increasingly used in the palliative treatment of painful disease in patients who are not eligible or do not respond to traditional therapies.