Ultrasound-guided percutaneous thermal ablation of parotid tumors: experience from two-centers

Abstract

Objective: To evaluate the efficacy and feasibility of ultrasound-guided percutaneous thermal ablation (TA) for treating benign parotid tumors.

Methods: Patients with benign parotid tumors who underwent ultrasound-guided microwave ablation (MWA) or radiofrequency ablation (RFA) between January 2020 and March 2023 were included in this retrospective study. Change in tumor size (maximum diameter, tumor volume(V), volume reduction rate (VRR)) and cosmetic score (CS) were evaluated during a one-year follow-up period. We also recorded the incidence of any complications associated with TA.

Results: A total of 23 patients (13 males and 10 females; median age 65 years, range 5–91 years) were included. The mean VRR at 1, 3, 6, and 12 months after TA was 37.03%±10.23%, 56.52%±8.76%, 82.28%±7.89%, and 89.39%±6.45%, respectively. Mean CS also changed from 3.39 ± 0.66 to 1.75 ± 0.93 (p < 0.001) by the end of follow-up time. Subgroup analysis showed that tumors with smaller initial maximum diameter had a faster CS reduction rate than those with larger initial diameter. The incidence of facial nerve dysfunction was 8.70%.

Conclusion: Ultrasound-guided percutaneous TA is an effective and safe treatment option for patients with benign parotid tumors.

Keywords:

• Parotid neoplasms
• ultrasonography
• interventional
• ablation techniques
• microwave ablation
• radiofrequency ablation

Acknowledgments

We thank all participants recruited for this study.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Data availability statement

The data presented in this study are available on request from the corresponding authors.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by National Key R&D Program of China (Grant No. 2019YFE0196700) and National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No. 82272015).