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Radiofrequency ablation destroys a liver tumour with heat, without removing part of the liver. A fine needle electrode is placed into the tumour under imaging guidance and radiofrequency current heats the tissue around the tip until the tumour and a small rim of liver around it are destroyed. The dead tissue is left in place and the body clears it slowly over months.
It is a treatment for the tumour, not for the underlying liver disease. In a cirrhotic liver the cirrhosis continues and surveillance continues with it.
Ablation is considered for a small liver tumour where removing part of the liver is not the better option. The usual situations are:
Size matters more than most people expect. Below 3 cm the whole tumour and a margin around it can be heated reliably. Above that, heat delivery becomes uneven and the chance of leaving viable tumour at the edge rises, which is why larger lesions are usually resected rather than ablated.
Position, not just size, decides. A 2 cm tumour in an awkward place may be less suitable for ablation than a 3 cm tumour in the middle of the right lobe.
There are two routes. Percutaneously, through the skin under ultrasound or CT guidance, usually as a day case or a single overnight stay. Or during an operation, laparoscopically or open, when ablation is combined with a resection or when the tumour cannot be reached safely from outside.
Which route is used depends on where the tumour sits, whether anything else is being done at the same time, and how well the lesion can be seen on imaging.
Most people are sore over the ablation site for a few days and tired for one to two weeks. A low-grade fever and a general flu-like feeling in the first week is common and expected — it is the body responding to the destroyed tissue, not an infection.
The first scan is usually at four to six weeks. That scan is not a formality: it is how completeness of ablation is judged, and if a rim of tumour has survived, a second ablation is discussed then.
Resection removes the tumour and the liver around it, and the pathologist can then measure the margin. Ablation destroys the tumour in place, so there is no specimen and completeness is judged on imaging instead.
Resection asks more of the liver and of the patient. Ablation asks less, and can be repeated. Neither is better in the abstract — the choice depends on the size and position of the tumour, on how much healthy liver would have to be removed, and on whether the patient can tolerate a major operation.
Radiofrequency ablation is also used in pain medicine, to interrupt nerves that carry pain from the spine and other joints. That is a different procedure, done by pain specialists, and it is not performed at this centre. This page is about ablation of liver tumours.
Where to get help
Dr Swati Shah, MS, DrNB (Surgical Oncology), performs robotic cancer surgery at Apollo Hospital, Bhat, Gandhinagar.
This page is about one treatment. The surgery side is set out on the service page. You can read about robotic surgery for urinary cancers on that page. Bring your reports. Second opinions are welcome.
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Last updated: 27 September 2026
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