Complications following 573 percutaneous renal radiofrequency and cryoablation procedures.
OBJECTIVE
To review complications related to percutaneous renal tumor ablation.


METHODS
Prospectively collected data related to renal radiofrequency (RF) ablation and cryoablation procedures performed from May 2000 through November 2010 were reviewed. This included 573 renal ablation procedures performed in 533 patients to treat 633 tumors. A total of 254 RF ablation and 311 cryoablation procedures were performed; eight patients underwent simultaneous RF ablation and cryoablation. The mean age of patients at the time of the procedure was 70 years (range, 24-93 y), and 382 of 573 procedures (67%) were performed in male patients. Complications were recorded according to the Clavien-Dindo classification scheme. Duration of hospitalization was also documented.


RESULTS
Of the 573 procedures, 63 produced complications (11.0% overall complication rate). There were 66 reported complications, of which 38 (6.6% of total procedures) were Clavien-Dindo grade II-IV major complications; there were no deaths. Major complication rates did not differ statistically (P = .15) between cryoablation (7.7%; 24 of 311) and RF ablation (4.7%; 12 of 254). Of the complications related to cryoablation, bleeding and hematuria were most common. Bleeding during cryoablation was associated with advanced age, increased tumor size, increased number of cryoprobes, and central position (P < .05). Of those treated with RF ablation, nerve and urothelial injury were most common. Mean hospitalization duration was 1 day for RF ablation and cryoablation.


CONCLUSIONS
Complications related to percutaneous renal ablation are infrequent. Recognition of potential complications and associated risk factors can allow optimization of periprocedural care.
Department of Radiology, Mayo Clinic, 200 First St SW, Rochester, MN 55902, USA. atwell.thomas@mayo.edu
Thomas D
TD
Atwell
Rickey E
RE
Carter
Grant D
GD
Schmit
Carrie M
CM
Carr
Stephen A
SA
Boorjian
Timothy B
TB
Curry
R Houston
RH
Thompson
A Nicholas
AN
Kurup
Adam J
AJ
Weisbrod
George K
GK
Chow
Bradley C
BC
Leibovich
Matthew R
MR
Callstrom
David E
DE
Patterson
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D017115:Catheter Ablation; D003452:Cryosurgery; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D007680:Kidney Neoplasms / Q000601:surgery*; D007902:Length of Stay / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011183:Postoperative Complications / Q000453:epidemiology*; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012307:Risk Factors