Comparison of Laparoscopic Microwave to Radiofrequency Ablation of Small Hepatocellular Carcinoma (≤3 cm).

Background: Laparoscopic thermal ablation is a common alternative to surgical resection in treating hepatic tumors, particularly in those located in difficult-to-reach locations.

Objective: The aim of this study was to compare the safety and long-term efficacy of laparoscopic radiofrequency ablation (RFA) and microwave ablation (MWA) in treating hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC).

Method: From February 2009 to May 2015, data from patients with HCC nodules who had undergone either laparoscopic MWA or laparoscopic RFA were examined.

Recall strategies for patients found to have a nodule in cirrhosis: is there still a role for CEUS?

Development of liver tumors and their evolution to hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is a multi-step process in which different HCC-etiologies induce continuous rounds of hepatocyte damage and regeneration. Over an extended time, this triggers cirrhosis which is a pathological state of the liver in which lesions can progress to become dysplastic nodules. Later, these nodules may evolve into HCC and occasionally generate metastatic events.