Physiological Tissue Response to Various Ablative Modalities¹

Tissue ablation has secured a prominent place in medicine: Such procedures involve skillful manipulations of the target tissues so as to destroy undesired structures (e.g., tumors) to restore normal structure and function. Currently, several ablative modalities are commonly employed in clinical practice, for example, radiofrequency ablation, cryoablation (Cryo), chemo-ablation, and/or high intensity focused ultrasound (HIFU). Although believed to be generally safe procedures, in small percentage of cases, these treatments can cause collateral damage of surrounding vital structures which can have severe clinical implications. Hence, a thorough understanding of tissue responses to ablation is essential to not only maximize the efficacies of ablative procedures but also minimize related clinical complications. The purpose of this study was to quantify changes in physiological/electromechanical properties of various tissues (myocardium, diaphragm, and esophagus) using in vitro tissue-bath studies, i.e., before and after treatment with one of the aforementioned ablative modalities. The functional parameters assessed were...