KARACHI, Nov 25: A rare procedure was performed at the Sindh Institute of Urology and Transplantation as part of a three-day workshop on radio frequency ablation of cancer, which concluded on Thursday.

Dr Zahid Anwar Khan, SIUT associate professor of radiology, performed the procedure and ablated the renal cancer in a patient for the first time in the country, claimed a press release. Hepatic cancer was also treated during the workshop.

Well-known radiologist Dr Rasheed Ahmed had inaugurated the event. The other participants included Dr Tanveerul Haq of the Aga Khan University, besides the radiology team of the SIUT.

According to the press release, radio frequency ablation is a new technique to treat cancer without the use of open surgery, and has been successfully tried out in the developed world for the last eight years, especially for the treatment of liver, kidney, bone and lung cancers.

Ablation procedure involves a high frequency alternating current which passes through an electrode placed in cells and causes necrosis of targeted tissues. The procedure, said the handout, was relevant to the patients who were not ideal candidates for surgery. A presentation regarding the technique and its results were made by Pascal Roussel of the RITA Medical Systems.