title: Hepatic radiofrequency ablation: in vivo and ex vivo comparisons of 15-gauge (G) and 17-G internally cooled electrodes.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To compare the performance of the 15-G internally cooled electrode with that of the conventional 17-G internally cooled electrode.
  
  
  METHODS
  A total of 40 (20 for each electrode) and 20 ablation zones (10 for each electrode) were made in extracted bovine livers and in in vivo porcine livers, respectively. Technical parameters, three dimensions [long-axis diameter (Dl), vertical-axis diameter (Dv) and short-axis diameter (Ds)], volume and the circularity (Ds/Dl) of the ablation zone were compared.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The total delivered energy was higher in the 15-G group than in the 17-G group in both ex vivo and in vivo studies (8.78 ± 1.06 vs 7.70 ± 0.98 kcal, p = 0.033; 11.20 ± 1.13 vs 8.49 ± 0.35 kcal, p = 0.001, respectively). The three dimensions of the ablation zone had a tendency to be larger in the 15-G group than in the 17-G group in both studies. The ablation volume was larger in the 15-G group than in the 17-G group in both ex vivo and in vivo studies (29.61 ± 7.10 vs 23.86 ± 3.82 cm(3), p = 0.015; 10.26 ± 2.28 vs 7.79 ± 1.68 cm(3), p = 0.028, respectively). The circularity of ablation zone was not significantly different in both the studies.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The size of ablation zone was larger in the 15-G internally cooled electrode than in the 17-G electrode in both ex vivo and in vivo studies.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Radiofrequency ablation of hepatic tumours using 15-G electrode is useful to create larger ablation zones.
authors.affiliation: 1 Department of Radiology and Center for Imaging Science, Samsung Medical Center, Sungkyunkwan University School of Medicine, Seoul, Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: K D
authors.initials: KD
authors.lastname: Song
authors.forename: M W
authors.initials: MW
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.forename: H J
authors.initials: HJ
authors.lastname: Park
authors.forename: D I
authors.initials: DI
authors.lastname: Cha
authors.forename: T W
authors.initials: TW
authors.lastname: Kang
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.forename: J Y
authors.initials: JY
authors.lastname: Moon
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Rhim
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D017115:Catheter Ablation / Q000295:instrumentation*; D002417:Cattle; D004566:Electrodes; D004867:Equipment Design; D066298:In Vitro Techniques; D008099:Liver / Q000601:surgery*; D023421:Models, Animal; D011846:Radio Waves; D013552:Swine