Radiofrequency ablation
Benefit from an advanced 和 effective cancer treatment option that’s less invasive than surgery. Your Community 医院 of the Monterey Peninsula 护理团队 may recommend radiofrequency ablation, 或RFA, as part of your cancer treatment plan.
What’s radiofrequency therapy?
RFA destroys cancer cells using radio waves 和 an electrical current. The procedure is a minimally invasive alternative to surgery, so you’ll have a faster recovery, with less risk of complications. It affects less healthy tissue because it treats a tumor in a localized, targeted way.
Even when RFA doesn’t remove all of a tumor, reducing its size can lengthen your life. To help you reach your best possible outcome, you may have RFA in addition to other 癌症治疗，例如 放射治疗 和 化疗.
Types of cancer treated
RFA is most often used to treat tumors in the:
Your doctor may recommend RFA instead of surgery if you have multiple tumors.
RFA是如何工作的
RFA是一个 interventional radiology procedure, which means your doctor will use 成像技术 to guide minimally invasive treatment.
在RFA, your doctor will place a needle electrode in the cancer tumor. The electrode uses an electrical current to heat 和 destroy (ablate) cancer cells.
Healthy tissue is better able to withst和 the heat than cancerous tissue. Generally, the procedure only affects a thin rim of noncancerous tissue.
会发生什么
你会 wear a hospital gown during RFA. At the start of your procedure, you’ll lie on an examining table. A nurse or technologist will place an IV line into your arm or h和 so you can receive medications 和 fluids.
Safety 和 pain management
Throughout your procedure, your 护理团队 will closely monitor your heart rate, 血压, 和脉冲. 预防感染, your 护理团队 will clean your skin with a special soap 和 may shave the area where your provider will place the electrode.
你会 be under general anesthesia. This means you’ll be asleep 和 won’t feel pain or remember the procedure. 你会 also receive local anesthesia to numb the area where your provider will insert the electrode.
在RFA
Your provider will make a small cut in the skin 和 use 成像技术 to guide the placement of the needle directly to the tumor. Once the needle is in place, it sends radiofrequency energy to destroy cancer cells. The time the ablation takes depends on how large the tumor is.
Your 护理团队 will remove the needle 和 apply pressure to stop any bleeding. You won’t need stitches. Your team will place a b和age on the area.
你的恢复
你会 stay overnight in the hospital 护理. 当它 time to leave the hospital, you’ll receive medications to relieve any pain or nausea. Follow your doctor’s instructions on how to recover at home. Most people return to their normal activities within a day or two.
RFA usually has a lower risk of side effects 和 complications than traditional surgery. Sometimes, people have flu-like symptoms after RFA. Rarely, some people experience pain. 呼叫 your doctor if your symptoms are severe.
后续护理
You may receive RFA more than one time. 依靠你的 护理团队 for any needed follow-up care. If part of a tumor remains after RFA, you may have 放射治疗 to destroy the remaining cancer cells.
