Interventional Radiologists
Dr. McCowan, Dr. Culp, and Dr. Yousaf at the UAMS University Hospital and Dr. James and Dr. Moore at Arkansas Children’s Hospital all perform Radiofrequency Ablation. RFA is part of the basic training for all interventional radiologists at UAMS. RFA utilizes techniques very familiar to interventional radiologists (putting in catheters, inserting needles, using images to guide where to put things) so it is a very comfortable procedure for these physicians to perform.

Some of the oncologic surgeons at UAMS do RFA as well, usually interoperatively (while doing another surgery). For instance, when a patient has colon cancer and the oncologic surgeons remove the colon tumor, they usually inspect the liver or may even already be aware of a spread of the disease to the liver. While the surgeons are operating they will, either laparoscopically or openly, treat the liver using visual guidance (most commonly ultrasound) to guide an ablation in the liver.

Further Information and Scheduling
For more information or to schedule an evaluation appointment, please call pager 501-395-9100, weekdays from 8:30 A.M. to 3 P.M.  One of the interventional radiology scheduling nurses, Lori Phares or Mary Jones, will return your page. They will need to know some patient information, medical history, and what treatment has been done and is currently being pursued for the tumor. The patient will also need to bring any available imaging studies, especially if they were obtained at an outside hospital. Patients can make a clinic appointment to review their images and discuss this technique with a doctor or nurse.

Patients are most commonly referred to UAMS for radiofrequency ablation from their primary doctor or oncologic physician; however, we also field inquiries directly from patients. Either way, ultimately we want to work in conjunction with the patient’s other physicians to achieve the best overall treatment.

Further information on radiofrequency ablation can be found on the Society of Interventional Radiology website.

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