Radiofrequency Ablation Device Assisted Liver Resection for Hepatocellular Carcinoma
N. Vlad, C. Gouillat, R. Moldovanu, C. Lupaşcu, Ș. Georgescu, E. TârcoveanuOriginal article, no. 4, 2014
The present study aim was to evaluate radiofrequency (RF)-assisted liver resection for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC).Patients and Methods: 35 consecutive patients were enrolledin this study. A Habib®4X RF ablation device (RFAD) wasused for liver resection. The patients were divided into twogroups: in group A (45.7%; n=16) liver resection wasperformed using the RFD, whereas in group B (54.3%;n=19), liver resection was performed without RFD. Thedata were analysed for statistical significance.Results: The study population had a male female ratio of25 10 and a mean age of 62.6Â+-11.6 years old. The meanoverall tumor volume was 161.8Â+-35.5 mL and there were nodifferences in tumor volume between groups. The operativetime and intraoperative blood loss were lower in group A,but without statistical significance [132.5Â+-61.5 vs167.9Â+-46.3 mins, (P=0.061) and 459Â+-342 vs 716Â+-648 mL(P=0.135)]. No differences were reported between the twogroups in operative accidents (P=0.508) and postoperativemorbidity (P=0.782); a higher rate of late postoperativecomplications was found in group A (56.3% vs. 16.7%, P=0.016). The overall postoperative mortality rate was2.8%. Local recurrence was noted in 32.4%. The three-yearcumulative survival rate was 60%.Conclusions: RFAD allows liver resection with low postoperativemortality and morbidity rates; RFD tends to decrease theoperative time and blood loss.Abbreviations: AFP - alpha fetoprotein, ALT - alanine aminotransferase, ASA - American Society of Anesthesiologists,AST - aspartate amino transferase, CT - computed tomography,HCC - Hepatocellular carcinoma, MELD - Model forEnd-Stage Liver Disease, RF â€" Radiofrequency, RFAD - Radiofrequencyablation device
