The value of artificial pleural effusion for percutaneous microwave ablation of liver tumour in the hepatic dome: A retrospective case-control study

Abstract

Purpose: The aim of this study was to evaluate the feasibility, safety, and efficiency of percutaneous microwave ablation (MWA) with artificial pleural effusion for liver tumours located in the hepatic dome.

Materials and methods: A total of 112 sessions of artificial pleural effusion performed on 102 liver tumour patients were summarised and analysed at our hospital. Among them, 31 hepatocellular carcinoma patients treated by percutaneous MWA were selected as the artificial pleural effusion group. The control group without artificial pleural effusion was matched with tumour size, tumour location and the histological grades of differentiation. The primary technique effectiveness rate, local tumour progression rate and tumour-free survival rate were compared.

Results: Artificial pleural effusion was achieved successfully in 110 of 112 sessions (98.2%), which helped to improve the visibility in 98.8% (82/83) and acquire safe puncture path in 96.3% (26/27). There were no statistical differences between the artificial pleural effusion group and the control group in the primary technique effectiveness rate (p = 1.000), the 1-, 2-, and 3-year local tumour progression rates (p = 0.669), and the 1-, 2-, and 3-year tumour-free survival rates (p = 0.979).

Conclusions: Percutaneous MWA with artificial pleural effusion could be a feasible, safe, and effective technique for liver tumours located in the hepatic dome.

• Artificial pleural effusion
• hepatocellular carcinoma
• liver tumour
• microwave ablation
• ultrasound

Supplementary Videos are available online at www.informahealthcare.com/hth

Supplementary Video 1 shows the procedure of the puncture of the pleural cavity.

Supplementary Video 2 shows the hyper-enhancing neoplasm clearly with the artificial pleural effusion on the contrast-enhanced sonogram.

Supplementary Video 3 shows the procedure of microwave ablation. You can see two heating microwave antennas.

Supplementary Video 4 shows the hypo-echo lesion with artificial pleural effusion on the grey-scale sonogram.