�鶹��Ƶapp

Ablation therapy is also a treatment option for people who have liver metastases—cancer that has spread to the liver from elsewhere in the body. This treatment can help reduce the risk of cancer recurrence. Although ablation therapies do not remove tumors, they can cause complete tumor destruction, especially if tumors are 3 centimeters in diameter or smaller.

Ablation therapies are also used to destroy tumors and reduce the number of tumors in people who are waiting for a liver transplant.

Ablation procedures are usually performed by an interventional radiologist, a doctor who specializes in treating conditions using minimally invasive techniques with imaging guidance, or a surgeon specializing in liver surgery.

NYU Langone specialists offer several types of ablative therapies.

Histotripsy

Histotripsy is an innovative, FDA-approved, noninvasive technology that uses focused ultrasound waves to precisely target and destroy liver tumors.

Using imaging guidance, our specialists deliver high-intensity, focused ultrasound pulses to the targeted liver tissue. These pulses cause extremely small bubbles within the tissue to rapidly expand and collapse, generating mechanical forces that destroy the tumor cells. This process, known as acoustic cavitation, effectively destroys the abnormal tissue with minimal damage to the surrounding healthy liver tissue.

Unlike traditional ablation techniques, histotripsy does not use heat as a method of cell destruction. This may reduce the risk of damaging delicate nearby structures, such as blood vessels or bile ducts.

Radiofrequency Ablation

Radiofrequency ablation (RFA) uses high-energy radio waves to heat and destroy liver tumors. Guided by imaging such as ultrasound or CT, a doctor inserts a thin, needle-like probe through the skin and into the tumor. The probe emits radiofrequency energy that generates heat, destroying cancerous cells while minimizing damage to surrounding healthy tissue.

Doctors use imaging during and after the procedure to monitor treatment and ensure the entire tumor—and a small margin of surrounding tissue—has been adequately treated. RFA is often recommended for people who have small tumors or who are not candidates for surgery.

Microwave Ablation

Microwave ablation (MWA) is a heat-based therapy that uses electromagnetic waves to rapidly heat and destroy liver tumors. Like RFA, this procedure is performed by inserting a probe through the skin and into the tumor while using guided imaging.

MWA can heat tissue more quickly and to higher temperatures than RFA, which may make it effective for treating larger tumors. In addition, MWA is more reliable than RFA when treating tumors near large blood vessels.

Sometimes surgeons perform RFA and MWA procedures during surgery. During minimally invasive surgery, the surgeon makes a few small incisions near the liver and places the ablation probe or needles and a laparoscope, a lighted tube with a tiny camera on it, into the incisions.

Surgeons may use a minimally invasive approach for people who have tumors that are near other vital structures, such as the gallbladder or the intestines.

These ablation approaches can also be used to help manage liver tumors immediately before removing a tumor during open surgery. Doctors may use RFA or MWA to help ensure the tumor margin is adequate before the tumor is surgically removed.

An anesthesiologist makes sure you’re comfortable during an ablation procedure, no matter how it is done, whether with a needle probe or during surgery.

Many patients undergo histotripsy on an outpatient basis, allowing them to leave the same day as the procedure and avoiding the need for extended hospital stays.

Thermal ablation therapy performed using a needle probe, as with RFA or MWA, may require only a few hours of recovery time or an overnight stay in the hospital. Laparoscopic or open procedures may require a few days of in-hospital recovery. Our specialists can manage any pain you may experience. Most people return to their regular activities a few days later.