The feasibility of percutaneous renal cryoablation under local anaesthesia.

OBJECTIVES

The aim of this study was to evaluate the feasibility of cryoablation of renal tumours without sedation.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

We prospectively evaluated 149 computed tomography-guided renal cryoablation procedures that were performed at our institution between 2009 and 2013. The patients received only 1 g of IV paracetamol prior to the procedure; intraprocedural, local anaesthesia was administered. We recorded the date and duration of the procedure, size and location of the tumour, number of cryoneedles used, need for dissection with saline or carbon dioxide and intraprocedural degree of pain, which was scored using an established visual analogue pain score (VAS) (0-10). Multivariate analysis was used to identify the associations between the recorded parameters and VAS.

RESULTS

An interventional radiologist and a technician could perform all procedures without the help of anaesthesiologists and with adequate analgesia. The pain level ranged from 0 to 8 (mean, 2.0). It did not correlate with the tumour size or with the number of cryoneedles. It was significantly greater when the ice ball involved renal cavities (p = .0033) and when carbon dioxide was used for dissection (p < .0001). Conversely, the team experience was positively correlated with lower pain levels (p = .0381).

CONCLUSION

This study demonstrates that the cryoablation of renal tumours is feasible by interventional radiologists alone using a combination of IV paracetamol and local anaesthesia.