Effective treatment of chronic radiation proctitis using radiofrequency ablation.
Endoscopic argon plasma coagulation and bipolar electrocautery are currently preferred treatments for chronic radiation proctitis, but ulcerations and strictures frequently occur. Radiofrequency ablation (RFA) has been successful for mucosal ablation in the esophagus. Here we report the efficacy of RFA with the BarRx Halo(90) system in three patients with bleeding from chronic radiation proctitis. In all cases, the procedure was well tolerated and hemostasis was achieved after 1 or 2 RFA sessions. Re-epithelialization of squamous mucosa was observed over areas of prior hemorrhage. No stricturing or ulceration was seen on follow-up up to 19 months after RFA treatment. Real-time endoscopic optical coherence tomography (EOCT) visualized epithelialization and subsurface tissue microvasculature pre- and post-treatment, demonstrating its potential for follow-up assessment of endoscopic therapies.
Zhou
Chao
C
Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science and Research Laboratory of Electronics Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, USA.
Adler
Desmond C
DC
Becker
Laren
L
Chen
Yu
Y
Tsai
Tsung-Han
TH
Figueiredo
Marisa
M
Schmitt
Joseph M
JM
Fujimoto
James G
JG
Mashimo
Hiroshi
H