Liver resection using high frequency electromagnetic thermotherapy

Abstract

Background/Aim: Electromagnetic thermotherapy is a new modality for surgery. It applies a high-frequency electrical current passing through coils to generate a high-frequency magnetic field to heat up magnetic materials for treating targeted tissue. Using such a system, we aim to perform resection of rabbit liver without bleeding. Materials and Methods: The electromagnetic machine can provide a high frequency magnetic filed, with an input of 220V-55A-60Hz and an output frequency of 40 kHz, and a power of 20kW. The magnetic materials used in this study were fine needle arrays made of stainless steel. We used porcine liver to simulate the surgery in vitro. In an animal model using New Zealand White Rabbit, we inserted the needles along the liver area where resection was performed and then used the magnetic field to heat the needles for three minutes. After heating, we resected the desired liver area and the whole gallbladder. Results: From the in vitro test, the needles achieved better temperature distributions in the targeted area and made the liver tissue coagulate. In the animal model, the liver resection was performed without bleeding. There was no jaundice observed after the surgery. Five rabbits were used and all of them were alive after the surgery until the end of the experiment (3 weeks). Conclusion: The experiments showed that high frequency electromagnetic thermotherapy is very effective in liver resection surgery in an animal model. Without bleeding, there is no need for ligation or coagulation after resection. Our method has great potential for future clinical applications.