Surgeon-Performed Radiofrequency Ablation for Benign and Malignant Thyroid Tumors

초록

Radiofrequency ablation (RFA) has gained recognition as a highly effective and safe mini-mally invasive alternative treatment for well-selected patients with benign thyroid nodules andrecurrent thyroid cancer. Despite the well-known efficacy of RFA, head and neck surgeonshave had minimal involvement in both establishing clinical evidence and developing mostRFA guidelines. This is partly due to the challenges surgeons face in understanding and ap-plying these imaging-guided interventions. However, head and neck surgeons possess exten-sive knowledge of surgical anatomy and have significant clinical experience with the anatomi-cal relationships of surrounding structures, which could enhance the safety and effectivenessof RFA. Their expertise allows for better management of rare but serious complications suchas bleeding, airway compression, recurrent laryngeal nerve paralysis, and tumor rupture. Drawing from my experience as a head and neck surgeon with RFA, this article aims to eluci-date the principles, indications, preparation, and procedure of RFA for benign and malignantthyroid tumors.

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