Affiliation:
1. Pain Diagnostics and Interventional Care, Sewickley, Pennsylvania
2. West Virginia School of Osteopathic Medicine, Lewisburg, West Virginia, USA
Abstract
Purpose of review
This article aims to empower the interventional pain physician to utilize RFA effectively by explaining the technical and electrophysiological features of monopolar, bipolar, and internally cooled RFA. Scientific data are used to provide advice on the effective, well tolerated, and rational application of these techniques. Moreover, physicians need to know how to analyze and generalize ex-vivo and in-vivo models to the clinical setting to optimize clinical outcomes.
Recent findings
Recent studies suggest that there are many ways to enhance the technical effectiveness of interventional pain medicine RFA through adjustments in the equipment selection and settings and the local tissue conditions specific to the targeted anatomical area. These modifications could assist in improving clinical and safety outcomes.
Summary
To optimize both the efficacy and safety of RFA, physicians must understand, conceptualize, interpret, and clinically translate the basic science of RFA. This knowledge is crucial for optimizing equipment selection and settings based on target location to enhance clinical outcomes and limit technical failures.
Publisher
Ovid Technologies (Wolters Kluwer Health)
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