NEEDLE ABLATION USING RADIO-FREQUENCY CURRENT AS A TREATMENT FOR BENIGN PROSTATIC HYPERPLASIA - EXPERIMENTAL RESULTS IN EX-VIVO HUMAN PROSTATE

Transurethral needle ablation of the prostate using low level radiofre quency (RF) energy was investigated in a human ex vivo model. RF power applications at a variety of power levels for various treatment times elicited marked thermal lesions of consistent sizes in prostatic aden omas. Tissue temperature was found to be the fundamental lesioning par ameter. Lesions were created whenever tissue temperature exceeded 45-d egrees-C. Lesion size correlated with RF power delivery and electrode length. Monitoring of the tissue impedance assisted in controlling eff icacious lesioning. RF power applications of 5-7.5 W for 3 min are sug gested as the 'ideal' setting to treat human prostatic adenomas, takin g into consideration the lesion size and time to achieve ablative temp eratures.