The possibilities of radiofrequency technology in the surgery of parenchimatous organs.

The aim of this paper is to determine the possibilities of modern radiofrequency (RF) technology and the usefulness of abdominal and thoracic parenchymatous organs in surgery. Investigation was made on 17 patients with 125 RF energy realized cycles (an average of 7.35 per one pt.) and the average time heating coagulative necrosis of 42.6 minutes (maximum to 80 minutes). There was one complication (pleural effusion) in a patient with RF treatment of 5 metastases colorectal carcinoma (MCRC) and synchronous right hemicolectomy. There were no other complications either to close or to distant to the organs. The urgent need of RF technology was in the case of a patient with iatrogenic rupture of spleen, treated by radiofrequency coagulation (RFC) with documented preservation of the whole organ. Most of the patients with MCRC (64%) were intraoperatively treated with a combination of radiofrequency ablation (RFA) and radiofrequency assisted resection (RFAR) of the liver with success in 95% of the cases. In the surgery of echinococcal liver cyst located deep, in the parenchyma, RFA were used for scolicidal purpose, and for hepatotomy. In the treatment of lung malignancies RF technology was reserved for nonsurgical candidates suffering from NSCLC, but also for surgical patients as a palliative measure in the treatment of local symptoms related to non-resectable primary and secondary tumors, presenting an aggressive tumor growth on the thoracic wall and the great vessels, with the possibility of reducing the number of explorative thoracotomy.