Endoscopic Radiofrequency Ablation–Assisted Resection of Juvenile Nasopharyngeal Angiofibroma

Abstract

Objectives

To evaluate the feasibility of radiofrequency surgical instrumentation for endoscopic resection of juvenile nasopharyngeal angiofibroma (JNA) and to test the hypothesis that endoscopic radiofrequency ablation–assisted (RFA) resection will have superior intraoperative and/or postoperative outcomes as compared with traditional endoscopic (TE) resection techniques.

Study Design

Case series with chart review.

Setting

Two tertiary care pediatric hospitals.

Subjects and Methods

Twenty-nine pediatric patients who underwent endoscopic transnasal resection of JNA from January 2000 to December 2014.

Results

Twenty-nine patients underwent RFA (n = 13) or TE (n = 16) JNA resection over the 15-year study period. Mean patient age was not statistically different between the 2 groups (P = .41); neither was their University of Pittsburgh Medical Center classification stage (P = .79). All patients underwent preoperative embolization. Mean operative times were not statistically different (P = .29). Mean intraoperative blood loss and the need for a transfusion were also not statistically different (P = .27 and .47, respectively). Length of hospital stay was not statistically different (P = .46). Recurrence rates did not differ between groups (P = .99) over a mean follow-up period of 2.3 years.

Conclusion

There were no significant differences between RFA and TE resection in intraoperative or postoperative outcome parameters.