Ultrasound-Guided Radiofrequency Ablation: A New Treatment Option after Failure to Stop Severe Acute Upper Gastrointestinal Tumor Bleeding Using Endoscopic Techniques

Introduction

Percutaneous ultrasound-guided radiofrequency ablation has been used for thermal destruction of focal malignancy in several solid organs, including the liver, kidney, adrenal gland, and spleen [1] [2] [3] [4]. We successfully extended the application of ultrasound-guided radiofrequency ablation to control severe acute upper gastrointestinal bleeding in a patient with an inoperable gastric carcinoma which was refractory to endoscopic treatment and unsuitable for angiographic embolization. To our knowledge, this is the first report of the use of radiofrequency ablation to treat a tumor within the gastrointestinal tract and to stop gastrointestinal bleeding using a minimally invasive percutaneous approach.

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