An indwelling drainage system for percutaneous drainage and radiotherapy of cystic craniopharyngiomas is described. The catheter is implanted into the cyst stereotaxically with a computed tomography-guided targeting device and connected to a Rickham reservoir. In addition to the repeated percutaneous evacuation of the cysts, this closed system enables intracavitary radiotherapy (yttrium-90) wit...

The evolution of effective and broadly applicable strategies for percutaneous ablation of atrial fibrillation (AF) has followed a complex course over the past decade. In 1994, Swartz et al. (1) reported successful percutaneous ablation of AF with multiple long linear lesions. Conceived as a replication of the surgical MAZE, the procedure deployed specifically tailored long sheaths to facilitate...

INTRODUCTION The porcine model is generally accepted for the development and testing of new forms oftherapy including ablation of atrial fibrillation (AF). However, the challenging left atrial (LA) and pulmonary vein (PV) anatomy enables only limited percutaneous catheter-based PV access. RESULTS Here we present I) an alternative percutaneous transapical access, which enables easy and safe re...

In the past few years, great improvements have been made to achieve local tumour control of primary liver malignancies and liver metastases. For hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), transarterial chemoembolisation (TACE) and tumour ablation techniques, including percutaneous ethanol injection (PEI), radiofrequency ablation (RF), and laser-induced interstitial thermotherapy (LITT) have been developed...

Image-guided percutaneous radiofrequency ablation (RFA) is a minimally invasive, relatively low-risk procedure for tumour treatment. Local recurrence and survival rates depend on the rate of complete ablation of the entire tumour including a sufficient margin of surrounding healthy tissue. Currently a variety of different RFA devices are available. The interventionalist must be able to predict ...

A case of a fistula running from the pulmonary vein to the esophagus after a staged hybrid procedure combining total thoracoscopic ablation and percutaneous radiofrequency catheter ablation has not been reported previously. We describe such a case in a 37-year-old man who was successfully treated by surgery.

To the Editor: High doses of iodine-131 (131I) are commonly used in patients with differentiated thyroid cancer (DTC) after total or subtotal thyroidectomy, in order to ablate the remaining cancer or normal thyroid tissue [1]. Whole body scan performed after about 5 days can visualize possible metastatic lesions [2] and may also show the stomach, salivary glands, the breasts expressing sodium i...

Percutaneous catheter-based therapy has recently been introduced to decrease blood pressure by ablation of efferent and afferent sympathetic renal nerves. The patient described here had a seven-year history of hypertension and presented with poorly controlled blood pressure despite antihypertensive therapy with four different drugs. A 44-yr-old man underwent percutaneous renal denervation under...

Scimitar syndrome and Wolff-Parkinson-White association has not been reported during the era of catheter ablation. We present our personal experience with percutaneous radiofrequency ablation, a technical challenge related with Scimitar's anatomical variants and follow-up after surgical repair of the latter.

Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma is a highly aggressive tumor with an overall 5-year survival rate of less than 5%. Prognosis and treatment depend on whether the tumor is resectable or not, which mostly depends on how quickly the diagnosis is made. Chemotherapy and radiotherapy can be both used in cases of non-resectable pancreatic cancer. In cases of pancreatic neoplasm that is locally advance...