Purpose: To retrospectively evaluate the treatment outcomes of thermal ablation for renal metastatic tumors.

Materials and Methods: Thirteen consecutive patients with small renal metastatic tumors (≤3 cm), who underwent thermal ablation between 2009 and 2020, were included in this study. Eight patients had extra-renal tumors during renal ablation. The primary tumors were adenoid cystic carcinoma in four patients, lung cancer in three, hemangiopericytoma in three, leiomyosarcoma in two, and thyroid cancer in one. The therapeutic effects, safety, survival rate, prognostic factor, and renal function were evaluated.

Results: We performed 18 ablation sessions (cryoablation, n = 13; radiofrequency ablation, n = 5) on 19 renal metastases with a mean diameter of 1.7 cm, which resulted in a primary technique efficacy rate of 100% without procedure-related deaths or major complications. Renal function significantly declined 6 months after ablation (P = 0.0039). During the mean follow-up period of 31.2 ± 22.4 months (range, 2.7-71.4 months), one patient had local tumor progression at 11.9 months following radiofrequency ablation. The overall survival rates at 1 and 3 years after ablation were 76.9% (95% confidence interval [CI], 54.0%-99.8%) and 59.3% (95% CI, 31.3%-87.3%), respectively. Tumor size ≥ 2 cm (P = 0.02) and metastasis from non-small cell lung cancer (P = 0.001) were significant worse prognostic factors in univariate analysis, and metastasis from non-small cell lung cancer (P = 0.01) was significant in multivariate analysis.

Conclusions: Percutaneous thermal ablation for small renal metastases is safe and feasible and can control local tumors.

Purpose: To evaluate the feasibility, safety, and efficacy of radiofrequency (RF) ablation using an ablation system (arfa RF ABLATION SYSTEM^®; Japan Lifeline Co. Ltd.) for treating solid tumors in various organs.

Material and Methods: Between October 2019 and August 2021, 80 patients (29 women, 51 men; median age, 70.0 yr) underwent 107 RF ablation sessions using the ablation system to treat 151 tumors in the liver (n = 86), lung (n = 51), adrenal gland (n = 4), pleura (n = 4), bone (n = 3), lymph node (n = 2), and kidney (n = 1). The maximum tumor diameter was 2-40 mm (median, 11 mm). This study evaluated technical success (defined as the completion of planned RF ablation), technique efficacy (defined as the complete tumor ablation on follow-up images), and adverse events. Local tumor progression in 146 curatively treated malignant tumors was evaluated.

Results: The technical success rate was 100% (107/107). Ablation zones in two tumors were insufficient. Therefore, the primary technique efficacy rate was 98.1% (105/107). Grade 3 hepatic infarction (1.6%, 1/64) and grade 4 pleuritis (3.4%, 1/29) occurred respectively after liver and lung RF ablation. During the median follow-up period of 10.2 months (Interquartile range, 4.2 and 16.4 months), local tumor progression developed in two tumors (1.4%, 2/146).

Conclusions: The arfa RF ABLATION SYSTEM^® is a feasible, safe, and effective RF ablation device for managing solid tumors in various organs.

We report a case of successful treatment of stomal variceal bleeding with percutaneous transhepatic obliteration using a microballoon catheter concomitantly with drainage vein compression. A 72-year-old man with alcoholic cirrhosis was admitted to our hospital due to repeated hemorrhage of stomal varices. Percutaneous transhepatic obliteration was then selected for treatment because computed tomography revealed the stomal varices being fed by only two branches of the superior and inferior mesenteric veins. During microballoon inflation, 5% ethanolamine oleate with iopamidol was injected into each branch, and the systemic drainage veins were compressed by the gauze from the body surface near the stoma. No rebleeding from the stomal varices has been observed 14 months after the procedure.

A 66-year-old man with ventricular septal defect was hospitalized for fever, dyspnea, and hemoptysis. Infectious endocarditis by Streptococcus parasanguinis was suspected. At 3 weeks after admission, massive hemoptysis suddenly occurred. Contrast-enhanced computed tomography showed a 2-cm aneurysmal formation in the right lower pulmonary artery. Rupture of a mycotic pulmonary artery pseudoaneurysm was diagnosed. Pulmonary angiography showed a wide-necked pseudoaneurysm at the trifurcation of the anterior, lateral, and posterior basal segmental arteries of the right lower lobe. Intrasaccular coil embolization with the balloon remodeling technique was successfully performed, preserving residual pulmonary function distal to the pseudoaneurysm.

In this study, we report two cases of transcatheter arterial embolization for intramammary hemorrhage caused by seat belt injuries. All patients were female drivers involved in traffic accidents. In each case, we accessed the hemorrhage through the left brachial artery and embolized the perforating branch of the left internal mammary artery with N-butyl-2-cyanoacrylate, obtaining effective hemostasis. Transcatheter arterial embolization is considered effective for breast hemorrhage because of rare but dangerous seat belt injuries.

We present the case of a man in his 60s with bleeding esophagojejunal varices occurring after gastrectomy for gastric carcinoma. Percutaneous transhepatic portography depicted the esophagojejunal varices originated from the jejunal vein and drained into the azygos vein. A 5-French occlusion balloon catheter was wedged into the jejunal vein and a 3-French occlusion balloon catheter into one drainage channel of the esophagojejunal varices via the azygos vein. Selective antegrade jejunal venography under dual-balloon occlusion revealed entire esophagojejunal varices with good stagnated and well-opacified contrast medium. Subsequently, 12 mL of 5% ethanolamine oleate-contrast medium mixture was slowly injected into the esophagojejunal varices. He was discharged without complications one week after the procedure, and abdominal computed tomography demonstrated the disappearance of the esophagojejunal varices six months after the procedure.