A liver resection is the surgical removal of all or a portion of the liver, which is also referred to as a hepatectomy, full or partial.
Kidney resection is the surgical removal of all or part of a kidney – nephrectomy or partial nephrectomy.
Hepatectomies are performed for the treatment of hepatic neoplasms, both benign or malignant. The symptoms are the ones of liver cancer.
Nephrectomies are also performed for the treatment of cancer and the symptoms are the ones of kidney cancer.
The procedure may be performed through a traditional open surgery or using minimally invasive techniques.
Intraoperative blood loss has been the major concern during major liver and kidney resections. Mortality and morbidity of surgery are clearly associated with the amount of blood loss. Different techniques have been developed to minimize intraoperative blood loss during liver resection and radiofrequency ablation is a widely used one.
RFA produces coagulative necrosis of the normal parenchyma and thrombosis and coagulation of small blood vessels. Several recent studies have shown that the use of RFA to assist liver resection decreased blood loss dramatically.
This technique employs the heat produced by the radiofrequency device to coagulate the liver tissue before resecting it.
The same technique can be used for bloodless kidney resection.
References:
- Yao P, Morris DL. Radiofrequency ablation-assisted liver resection: review of the literature and our experience. HPB: The Official Journal of the International Hepato Pancreato Biliary Association. 2006;