Maximal host tolerance to large-volume hepatic radiofrequency ablation in a rat model

This is an in vivo study on normal and cirrhotic Sprague-Dawlay rats to investigate the possible systemic responses of large-volume hepatic radiofrequency ablation and to estimate its maximal host tolerance. Cool-tip® RF System was used to ablate different percentage of liver volume in normal and cirrhotic rats. Systemic responses in terms of systemic inflammatory marker changes and end-organ functions were determined. For the normal liver groups, the concentrations of systemic inflammatory markers were significantly elevated in early postoperative period when 50 and 60% of the liver volume were ablated, compared with the control group. Derangement of coagulation profile and interstitial penumonitis occurred after 50 and 60% of the liver volume were ablated. The survival rate was 100%, 60% and 0% when 40%, 50% and 60% of liver volume were ablated, respectively. Similar systemic responses were observed among the cirrhotic liver groups when 30 and 40% of the liver volume were ablated. The survival rate was 100%, 40% and 0% when 20%, 30% and 40% of the cirrhotic liver were ablated, respectively. The normal rats can tolerate hepatic RFA procedure maximally when 40% of the liver volume is ablated, whereas the cirrhotic rats can only tolerate RFA of 20% of the liver volume.