Minimally invasive treatment for cancer with microwave ablation at Durdans Hospital
In Sri Lanka the risk of developing any of the leading cancers in one’s lifetime, for both males and females, is one out of 40.
While different types of treatment are available they can diminish the quality of life for the patient. Along with the early detection of tumours, microwave ablation is a minimally invasive procedure that can be performed to remove a tumour or mass anywhere in the body.
Durdans Hospital Radiology Department facilitates minimally invasive microwave ablation for patients with cancer or any kind of mass, in a state-of-the-art facility under the guidance of experienced specialists. Radiology facilities include CT, MRI, Digital X-ray, ultrasound, bone densitometry and digital mammography.
Microwave ablation is used successfully to treat liver, kidney, lung, breast and prostate cancers among others. As this is not a surgical procedure there is no down time or blood loss and the risk of infection or postop complication is very low. Also it can be performed as an outpatient procedure.
Durdans Hospital Consultant Interventional Radiologist Dr. Prasad De Silva said: “Areas up to five centimeters in diameter can be burned and take as little as five minutes to complete the ablation. A needle will be inserted through the skin into the mass or tumour and when connected to a microwave generator the electrode in the needle creates high frequency microwave energy to heat and destroy the tumour tissue.”
Dr. Silva also said: “The needle is guided with the help of CT and Ultrasound scans so that we can find the exact location. The microwave heat burns only the mass and not the surrounding healthy tissue. The patient will be put under local anaesthesia and will be sedated as they may feel a degree of pain and soreness after the ablation.”
Ablation means to burn. Microwave ablation is the process by which electromagnetic energy is used at microwave frequencies of typically 915 MHZ or 2.45 GHZ (for ablative technologies) to heat the tissues of the organ bearing the tumour. The procedure is very short, fast and highly accurate.