The hospital in Emmen has started a new treatment for kidney tumors. By inserting three thin, cold needles, the tumor is frozen and the tumor cells die. According to Treant, which includes the hospital in Emmen, this method is also called cryo-ablation.
Two or three needles are inserted into the skin through an incision, which are made very cold using a special freezing technique. After the needles have frozen the tumor, they are removed again. This technique saves the rest of the kidney. The dead cells are removed by the body itself after the treatment.
The Treant hospital is the first hospital in Drenthe to use this method. This started a year ago in Emmen, and fifteen kidney cancer patients have now been treated without complications.
“The needles can be placed precisely in the tumor by using the CT images,” says interventional radiologist Maurizio Moojen. “No general anesthesia is required, so patients can often go home a day later. We are very happy that we can use this treatment.”
During the procedure, the patient is put into a shallow artificial sleep, also called a sedation. This way they don’t notice anything about the treatment.
The Emmer hospital specializes in prostate and kidney cancer and patients from all over the Northern Netherlands are helped here.