Last week, the University Hospital in Kraków introduced its first procedures of treating mild focal changes in thyroid. These procedures will involve an echolaser which will be used at the Hospital’s Clinical Department of Endocrinology, Endocrine Oncology and Nuclear Medicine.
‘It’s a microinvasive procedure that allows for almost painless removal of thyroid tumours without the need for surgery and without any potential complications’, said Elżbieta Deptuła-Krawczyk from the Military Institute of Medicine, who participated in the training.
Echolaser is the only device in the world to make use of both laser and ultrasound. Currently, laser thermal ablation is prescribed to patients suffering from mild thyroid tumours. The process begins with the administration of local anaesthesia. After that, the needle and thermal ablation electrode is inserted into the tumour, constantly monitored via ultrasound. The tip of the needle is then heated up, which results in high-precision, localised treatment. The technique allows for partial or total elimination of the tumour. The results are visible several weeks to several months after the procedure; if they are not satisfying, it can be repeated.
The main advantages of laser thermal ablation is short duration (up to 40 minutes), great effectiveness, good tolerance, unimpeded functioning of the organ, no scarring and no necessity to apply general anaesthesia. Pain during the procedure is minimal and the period of convalescence is much shorter than in the case of standard treatment. Patients are able to go home on the same day the procedure was performed.
In the future, the University Hospital in Kraków will use this technique to treat thyroid adenomas, malignant tumours that have metastasised to lymph nodes and, in collaboration with the Clinical Department of General, Oncological, Gastroenterological and Transplant Surgery, also liver, pancreatic and adrenal gland tumours.
