Da Capital Hospital uses SUS to perform an innovative, minimally invasive procedure for cancer treatment

The name of the technique — percutaneous radiofrequency ablation — is tricky, but the benefit to the patient is positive. The procedure promises to dismantle the malignancy in minimally invasive surgery. This is done by Unified Health System (SUS), in Porto Alegre.

In Rio Grande do Sul, this technology is available to cancer patients in the United States Conceicão Hospitaland the offer should run from February 2023. Last week, Tuesday (27), three patients cancer Underwent the procedure, two came out on the same day. The third, he left the hospital the following Thursday (29).

Prior to that, the procedure had been successfully tested on two occasions, in 2021, at Conceição Hospital. From 2023 onwards, SUS patients referred by municipal and state networks, which regulate cancer care, will be able to use the service.

Currently, the action is being offered in the private network and in a few places in the country’s public network.

How it works

In computed tomography, a radiofrequency needle with a diameter of about 1 mm is placed in the patient and reached to hit the organ, precisely, explains Eduardo Medrona, coordinator of the Interventional Radiology team in Conceicao.

After insertion through the puncture and reaching the lesion, the needle is connected to a generator that heats its end, destroying the existing tumor with heat.

The procedure is a good option for malignant lesions up to 3 cm in height, particularly in the kidneys and liver. Percutaneous radiofrequency ablation may benefit patients who have certain types of benign lung, adrenal, or thyroid tumors. In the future, it should expand to other bodies.

Another advantage of this procedure is the time spent in the hospital. Generally, according to the coordinator of the interventional radiology team, the patient can be released on the same day of surgery, which provides a faster return to normal routine.

– The result of treating small lesions, from the point of view of oncology, is the same as that of conventional or robotic surgery, curing about 100% of patients, but the big difference is in preserving the organ, which is very important when the patient no longer has a single kidney. Such is the case with two of our patients who underwent this procedure this week. Someone 83 years old, discharged on the same day, another 29 years old – explains Eduardo Medrona.