Hydrodissection technique for pain relief during peri-microwave ablation in patients with subpleural non-small cell lung cancers

PURPOSE: This study aimed to assess the application value of the hydrodissection technique (HT) for pain relief during peri-microwave ablation (MWA) in patients with subpleural non-small cell lung cancers (NSCLCs). METHODS: This retrospective study comprised 218 patients with subpleural NSCLCs who underwent computed tomography (CT)-guided percutaneous MWA. The patients were divided into two groups: HT-assisted MWA (HT group) and local pleural anesthesia (LPA)-assisted MWA (LPA group). Differences in the effective rates of pain relief during MWA, visual analog scale (VAS) scores post-MWA, complications, and complete ablative rates were assessed. RESULTS: = 0.0161). The complete ablative rates at 1, 3, 6, 12, and 24 months post-MWA were comparable of two groups. CONCLUSIONS: These results indicate that HT-assisted MWA of patients with subpleural NSCLCs could effectively provide pain relief and decrease the occurrence of pneumothorax, yielding a satisfactory local therapeutic response.