Monopolar Radiofrequency Ablation Using a Dual-Switching System and a Separable Clustered Electrode: Evaluation of the In Vivo Efficiency

OBJECTIVE To determine the in vivo efficiency of monopolar radiofrequency ablation (RFA) using a dual-switching (DS) system and a separable clustered (SC) electrode to create coagulation in swine liver. MATERIALS AND METHODS Thirty-three ablation zones were created in nine pigs using a DS system and an SC electrode in the switching monopolar mode. The pigs were divided into two groups for two experiments: 1) preliminary experiments (n = 3) to identify the optimal inter-electrode distances (IEDs) for dual-switching monopolar (DSM)-RFA, and 2) main experiments (n = 6) to compare the in vivo efficiency of DSM-RFA with that of a single-switching monopolar (SSM)-RFA. RF energy was alternatively applied to one of the three electrodes (SSM-RFA) or concurrently applied to a pair of electrodes (DSM-RFA) for 12 minutes in in vivo porcine livers. The delivered RFA energy and the shapes and dimensions of the coagulation areas were compared between the two groups. RESULTS No pig died during RFA. The ideal IEDs for creating round or oval coagulation area using the DSM-RFA were 2.0 and 2.5 cm. DSM-RFA allowed more efficient RF energy delivery than SSM-RFA at the given time (23.0 ± 4.0 kcal vs. 16.92 ± 2.0 kcal, respectively; p = 0.0005). DSM-RFA created a significantly larger coagulation volume than SSM-RFA (40.4 ± 16.4 cm(3) vs. 20.8 ± 10.7 cm(3); p < 0.001). Both groups showed similar circularity of the ablation zones (p = 0.29). CONCLUSION Dual-switching monopolar-radiofrequency ablation using an SC electrode is feasible and can create larger ablation zones than SSM-RFA as it allows more RF energy delivery at a given time.