"The increased safety during the intervention is an important benefit for the patients"
Dr. Carlo Mario Stefano Tappero, Senior Physician Radiology, Hôpital Fribourgeois, Switzerland
A team from the radiology department of the hôpital fribourgoise in Fribourg, Switzerland has successfully performed a complex procedure and received the “Quality Ablation – Case of the Year Award” for this achievement. Quality Ablation with CAS-One IR allows the complete removal of lesions in areas that are difficult to access without damaging the adjacent healthy tissue. This accurate, efficient and non-invasive method therefore promotes optimal patient recovery. Senior Physician Dr. Carlo Mario Stefano Tappero explains the benefits of Quality Ablation.
What is CAS-One IR?
CAS-One IR is a computer-assisted navigation system that allows the orientation and positioning of a radiology probe to perform a diagnostic biopsy or tumour removal. The tumour is destroyed from within by electromagnetic oscillations based on the principle of a microwave. The destroyed tissue is then decomposed naturally by the body.
What are the advantages of using the CAS-One IR technology?
First of all, the increased safety during the intervention. CAS-One IR enables the treatment of tumours less than one centimetre in size in areas that are difficult to access without damaging adjacent tissue and vessels. The operation is usually performed under general anaesthesia and takes about one hour. It takes about five minutes to position the cannula and between four and six minutes to burn the lesion.
What organs can be treated?
We mainly treat lesions in the liver and kidneys and bone lesions. This technology is used when there is an increased risk of collateral damage, i.e. when the tumour is difficult to access or difficult to visualise in ultrasound.
Which patients is CAS-One IR suitable for?
We treat adults for biopsies and ablation of tumours. In children and adolescents we use the technology for benign but painful bone lesions.
When is the technology used? When conventional surgery does not offer the necessary guarantees of success?
CAS-One IR is a navigation system that enables the ablation needle to be placed with high precision. Everything depends on where the tumour is located. If it is visible in ultrasound, we also perform the removal with ultrasound control. If not, we use the CASE-One IR system. The decision lies with the interventional radiologist.
Does this technology complement or replace conventional surgery?
Before starting treatment, the specific and unique situation of the patient is always discussed in a multidisciplinary session between doctors from different specialties. The decision on treatment is therefore a consensus which is then presented to the patient. Percutaneous ablation, i.e. the thermal destruction of a lesion without opening the body, can be used as a minimally invasive option for the treatment of tumours. This technique is effective up to a certain extent of the lesion. From 4 to 5 cm, complete removal becomes difficult. The treatment is not painful for the patient. The excellent cooperation with our colleagues in anaesthesia and the technological developments in their own discipline, especially jet ventilation, which allows us to avoid the movements associated with breathing, allow us to treat lesions that are difficult to access.
Read the full interview on the HFR website.
Quality Ablation Blog
Visit the Quality Ablation Blog and see the winning case of the radiology team at hôpital fribourgoise:
Navigated ablation of a difficultly located lesion in segment VI of the liver under the glisson capsule between the portal vein and the vena cava.
