Acute Hepatic Failure Following Radiofrequency Ablation for a Large Hepatocarcinoma in a Man with Hepatic Cirrhosis

Abstract

  A 67-year-old man with hepatic cirrhosis in Child-Turcotte class B was scheduled for radiofrequency ablation (RFA) . He was not a candidate for surgical treatment because the tumor diameter was greater than 5.5 cm and he had poor hepatic function. RFA consisted of 56 ablations of 2-3 minutes' duration each. He suffered abdominal distension, ascites and persistent fever the first day after RFA, and died on the 7th day because of the hepatic failure. We should more fully understand the indications of RFA for cirrhosis.