Clinical efficacy of complex venous malformations treated by percutaneous radiofrequency dynamic ablation with low power under real-time color Doppler monitoring

Objective To observe the clinical effects and complications of percutaneous radio frequency ablation. Methods Clinical records from 24 patients with complex venous malformations that underwent percutaneous radiofrequency ablation (RFA) from Dec. 2014 to Dec. 2015 at a single-institution were reviewed. There were 14 males and 10 females. The median age was 11 years ranging from 1.5 to 42 years. There were 13 cases with extensive lesions and 11 cases with deep localized lesions. Coagulopathy occurred in 4 patients with extensive lesions. Ablation procedures were performed under real-time color Doppler monitoring by percataneous radiofrequency dynamic ablation with low power, and the therapeutic efficacy was evaluated on a 4-level scale. Results There were 12 grade IV cases, 9 grade Ⅲ cases, 3 grade Ⅱcases and 0 gradeⅠcase after 15 to 28 months’ follow-up. All 4 patients had improvement in coagulopathy. There were 9 cases with grade IV therapeutic efficacy in patients with deep localized lesions, compared to 3 in patients with extensive lesions, which indicated a significant differences between these two groups (P<0.05). Conclusions Moving radiofrequency ablation with low power is feasible and safe in venous malformations treatment, which can be recommended as the replacement for surgery or sclerotreatment, being especially indicated in those with deep lesions. Obvious improvement in coagulopathy and pathogenetic condition can be achieved after ablation in those with extensive lesions. Key words: Venous malformation; Ethanol; Surgery; Complication; Ablation techniques