Radiofrequency ablation of a solitary liver metastasis complicated by colonic perforation

Case report: bowel perforation after cutaneous nerve radiofrequency ablation for postherniorrhaphy neuralgia

Postoperative inguinal neuralgia is a known complication of open or laparoscopic herniorrhaphy, initially managed conservatively with analgesics. If symptoms do not resolve additional treatment modalities include nerve blocks, mesh explanation, neurectomy or radiofrequency ablation. Radiofrequency ablation is also used for ablation of hepatic tumors, and thermal injury to bowel is a known and well-documented complication with its use on the liver. There is no published literature or case reports describing thermal injury to bowel from radiofrequency ablation of ilioinguinal or iliohypogastric nerves. We present a case of a 44-year-old male with postoperative inguinal neuralgia following bilateral herniorrhaphies. He failed conservative management and underwent hot radiofrequency ablation of bilateral ilioinguinal and iliohypogastric nerves and presented with delayed small bowel perforation due to thermal injury.

Gastrointestinal tract complications after hepatic radiofrequency ablation: CT prediction for major complications

PURPOSE

To analyze CT features that predict major gastrointestinal tract (GIT) complication after hepatic radiofrequency ablation (RFA).

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Of 3933 patients who underwent RFA for hepatic malignancy from January 2005 to September 2016, 52 patients (1.32%) who had GIT complications were retrospectively enrolled. Electronic medical records and CT results were reviewed for location (left vs. right lobe, subcapsular vs. non-subcapsular) and tumor size, distance from the hepatic capsule, number and length of needles, ablation time, presence of artificial ascites, previous history of percutaneous treatment or operation, injured organs, length and thickness of injured GIT, presence of adjacent infiltration, ascites, mucosal discontinuity, and free air, and eccentricity. Patients were divided into those that recovered with conservative treatment (minor group) and those that required operation (major group). Chi-square test, Fisher's exact test, and Mann-Whitney U test analyzed differences between the two groups; however, the most significant variable was found using binary logistic regression analysis.

RESULTS

Of 52 patients who had GIT complications after hepatic RFA, 2 patients (0.05%) had major GIT complications, while the remaining 50 patients (1.27%) had minor complications. Most (47/52, 90.4%) of the tumors were located at subcapsular portion. 66% of tumors were located at the left hepatic lobe. Stomach was the most frequent injured organ (28/52, 53.8%), followed by colon (17/52, 32.7%) and small bowel (7/52, 13.5%). Patients with major GIT complications had significantly thicker (1.8 vs. 1.1 cm) and concentric (2/2, 100% vs. 1/50, 2.0%) bowel wall thickening with mucosal discontinuity (2/2, 100% vs. 0/50, 0%) than those with minor complications (P < 0.05).

CONCLUSION

GIT complication after hepatic RFA is rare and often requires conservative treatment. However, patients who show >1.65-cm-thick, concentric bowel wall thickening with mucosal disruption on CT after hepatic RFA may have major GIT injury that requires bowel surgery.

Percutaneous transcatheter embolisation of active haemorrhage following radiofrequency ablation of hepatocellular carcinoma

A 72-year-old woman with hepatitis C virus cirrhosis underwent a surveillance ultrasound examination which identified a new hepatic lesion. A workup triphasic CT examination demonstrated a 3.7 cm lesion at the hepatic dome with arterial enhancement and portal venous washout consistent with hepatocellular carcinoma. She subsequently proceeded for treatment with radiofrequency ablation (RFA). RFA was technically successful, but the patient became hypotensive and tachycardic postprocedure. A CT angiogram demonstrated active arterial intraperitoneal haemorrhage from the RFA site. The patient returned to the interventional suite for catheter angiography which confirmed the presence of active haemorrhage from the hepatic arterial branch supplying segment VIII. The bleeding vessel was selectively catheterised with a microcatheter, and successfully embolised with 250-355 µm polyvinyl alcohol particles.

Complications of image-guided thermal ablation of liver and kidney neoplasms

Image-guided thermal ablation is a widely accepted tool in the treatment of a variety of solid organ neoplasms. Among the different techniques of ablation, radiofrequency ablation, cryoablation, and microwave ablation have been most commonly used and investigated in the treatment of liver and kidney neoplasms. This article will review complications following thermal ablation of tumors in the liver and kidney, and discuss the risks and clinical presentation of each complication as well as how to treat and potentially avoid complications.