The therapy, which was CT guided, avoids the need for a partial nephrectomy, and includes a biopsy to characterize the lesion.
Last Sunday, cryoablation – freezing of a kidney tumor – was performed at Laniado Hospital for the first time. The patient, a 79-year-old woman, was diagnosed with a suspicious lump in her kidney during a routine CT. During the monitoring of the process, growth of the suspicious lump was observed, and it was decided to treat the lesion. The patient underwent a urological consultation. Due to many background diseases, it was decided that a partial nephrectomy is a high risk, and she was, therefore, referred for minimally invasive surgery. The procedure was performed by Dr. Achiude Bendet, Head of Laniado Hospital’s Medical Imaging Division and Interventional Radiology Unit, together with Dr. Alexander Blinky from the Angio Center. The procedure was performed in the CT Unit under general anesthesia by a team of anesthesiologists and lasted about two hours.
During the procedure, a thin hollow needle a few millimeters in diameter was inserted. In the first stage, a biopsy of the lesion is performed for characterization purposes. In the next stage, another special probe is inserted through the same hollow needle. The special probe forms an ice ball that surrounds the tumor and actually destroys the tumor cells. When necessary, based on the tumor size, another probe may be inserted. The position of the probes and size of the ice ball can be ensured throughout the procedure to obtain the best results and prevent complications. The procedure was extremely successful without any complications and the patient was discharged home after overnight observation, without any pain, drains or scars.
Dr. Bendet said that “We’re continuing to upgrade the interventional radiology service provided here at Laniado Hospital. Ablation procedures, and specifically cryoablation, require professional knowledge, expertise, plenty of experience and advanced technology. To my delight, the entire team undertook to perform the complex treatment highly successfully.”
Nadav Chen, CEO of Laniado Hospital, congratulated the Imaging Division staff for performing the complex treatment and said “We’re constantly in the process of hiring quality staff, together with investment in advanced technologies. To my delight, these investment bear good fruit and allow us to provide the best medical care to about half a million Netanya and Sharon region residents.”
