<

正

>

Objective:Percutaneous radiofrequency ablation（PRFA） is known to be as effective as hepatectomy for small hepatocellular carcinoma（HCC） in the long-term.We wished to ascertain how it is for recurrent small HCC.Methods:From January 2009 to November 2011

a series of sixty-one patients were included in the study according to the criteria:each patient had one recurrent HCC

less than 5 cm in diameter.Twenty-six of the 61 patients were treated with PRFA and the other 35 were treated with repeat hepatectomy.Results:The interval from first surgery to recurrent for repeat hepatectomy and PRFA groups were（1

239.60±1

017.00） d and（903.42±975.11） d respectively（P=0.066）.The tumor-free time after repeat hepatectomy and PRFA were（310.23±159.50） d and（278.27±123.29） d respectively（P=0.584）.Size of tumor in repeat hepatectomy and PRFA were（7.34±3.16） cm

2

and（5.59±3.40） cm

2

（P=0.215）

the total expenditure for each patient of the two groups were（26

150.66±7

923.60） yuan and（21

135.00±1

156.76） yuan（RMB）

and the time of hospitalization for each of the two groups were（15.29±4.28） d and（7.46±2.20） d（P

<

0.001）.Conclusion:PRFA is proved to be as effective as repeat hepatectomy in the treatment of recurrent small HCC

and superior to repeat hepatectomy as it is less invasive.