Percutaneous transhepatic bipolar radiofrequency catheter ablation for the treatment of malignant obstructive jaundice：preliminary experience in 20 c ases / 介入放射学杂志

ABSTRACT

Objective To investigate the feasibility, safety and clinical effect of percutaneous transhepatic bipolar radiofrequency catheter ablation in treating malignant obstructive jaundice. Methods Twenty patients with inoperable malignant biliary obstruction were enrolled in this study. Of the 20 cases , 2 had biliary stent re-occlusion. Percutaneous transhepatic bipolar radiofrequency catheter ablation was carried out in all patients. The ablation power was 5 - 12 W, single ablation time was 60 - 120 s, the average duration of ablation was 4.66 min (1.5 - 8.5 min), and the mean effective ablation extent was 5.76 cm (4 -10 cm). After ablation, balloon catheter was inserted to dilate the occluded segment, which was followed by implantation of biliary metal stent. The clinical efficacy , safety and complications were recorded. Results Percutaneous transhepatic bipolar radiofrequency catheter ablation was successfully completed in all the 20 patients. Implantation of biliary metal stent was performed in 17 patients , among them balloon dilatation was employed in 11 patients before stent implantation , simple balloon dilatation with no stent implantation was employed in one patient, and ablation was adopted after biliary stent re-occlusion occurred in two patients. After the ablation, no complications such as biliary fistula, biliary tract infections, liver penetrating injuries, peritonitis, etc. occurred. Biliary drainage was successfully completed in all patients. The median follow-up period was three months(0.5-10 months); the stent patency rate at the end of one and three months was 100% (19/19) and 79% (11/14) respectively. The one-month and 3-month survival rate was 95% (19/20) and 93% (14/15) respectively. During the follow-up period, 8 of the 20 patients were alive and 12 died. The median survival time was 144 days (13 - 330 days) and the median time of stent patency was 60 days (30-210 days). Of the 12 fatal patients, 8 died of cachexia with multi- system failure although their total bilirubin level was not elevated during the follow- up period. Conclusion For the treatment of malignant obstructive jaundice, percutaneous transhepatic bipolar radiofrequency catheter ablation is a newly-developed, safe and feasible means. Clinically, this technique has already achieved some certain effect although its long-term results need to be further evaluated.