Radiofrequency Ablation: A Promising Treatment Method for Abdominal Wall Endometriosis

Purpose To evaluate the application of radiofrequency ablation (RFA) as a treatment method for abdominal wall endometriosis (AWE).

The characteristics of the AWE lesions in the patients were obtained using ultrasound (US). The patients received general and local anesthesia, and then, AWE lesions were divided into 1 cm3 sections visually, and each of these sections underwent US-guided RFA using the moving shot technique. Follow-up included outpatient appointments, including a US examination 1, 3, and 6 months after the treatment to assess the volume of the lesions. In addition, the level of pain experienced by the patients was measured using a visual analogue scale (VAS) before and the day after the procedure, as well as at each follow-up appointment.

Ten patients were treated with RFA. The procedural success was achieved in all of the patients. The median volume of the lesions decreased from 7.3 cm3 (IQR = 4.39,23.75) to 2.95 cm3 (IQR = 1.65,9.09) (P = 0.005). All patients reported reduced pain levels, and the median of their VAS score decreased from 9 (IQR = 8,9) to 0 (IQR = 0,1.25) (P = 0.004) at the end of the follow-up period. None of the patients experienced complications related to RFA treatment.

Based on the study's findings, RFA appears to be a promising minimally invasive treatment for AWE. However, larger studies with longer follow-up periods are required for a more comprehensive understanding of its efficacy and safety. Level of Evidence Level 4, Case Series. Graphical Abstract

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None. Funding This study was funded by Iranian Academic Center for Education Culture and Research (ACECR). ACECR is a public and academic institution which help us to conduct this study by covering the ultrasound follow-up appointments for the patients. The sponsor did not have any role in collection, analysis, and interpretation of data and in writing the manuscript. Author information Authors and Affiliations Corresponding author Ethics declarations Conflict of interest The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest. Ethical standards All procedures performed in studies involving human participants were in accordance with the ethical standards of the institutional and/or national research committee and with the 1964 Helsinki declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards. The protocol of the study was approved by the Research Ethics Committees of Avicenna Research Institute: IR.ACECR.AVICENNA.REC.1401.006 and was registered on the Iranian Registry of Clinical Trials: IRCT20220219054066N1. Informed consent Informed consent was obtained from all individual participants included in the study. Consent for publication Consent for publication was obtained for every individual person’s data included in the study. Additional information Publisher's Note Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations. Rights and permissions About this article Cite this article Mahdavi, A., Forouzannia, S.A., Goudarzi, E. et al. Radiofrequency Ablation: A Promising Treatment Method for Abdominal Wall Endometriosis. Cardiovasc Intervent Radiol 47, 1009–1014 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00270-024-03755-4 Received: Accepted: Published: Version of record: Issue date: DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00270-024-03755-4