Chronic radiation proctitis, although relatively rare, can be the source of severe comorbidity in patients who had undergone prior radiotherapy for pelvic malignancy. Although current treatments for radiation proctitis include argon plasma coagulation, heater probe, bipolar neodymium/yttrium aluminum garnet (Nd: YAG) lasers, these interventions are often burdened by the frequent occurrence of rectal ulcerations and stenosis. Since radiofrequency ablation (RFA) is frequently used to ablate esophageal malignancy and pre-malignancy, we report the efficacy of RFA using through the scope system in two patients with rectal bleeding due to radiation proctitis. In both cases, the procedure was well-tolerated with hemostasis achieved after 1 or 2 sessions of RFA. Mucosal re-epithelialization was observed in areas of previous bleeding with no stenosis or ulceration observed at follow-up.

Department of Physiology and Pathophysiology Faculty of Medicine University of Ostrava Ostrava Syllabova 19 Ostrava Vitkovice 70030 Czech Republic

Department of Surgery Sapienza University 00185 Rome Italy

Division of General Oncological Mini‑Invasive and Obesity Surgery University of Study of Campania Luigi Vanvitelli 80131 Naples Italy

Unit of Endoscopic Surgery Department of Surgery University of Campania Luigi Vanvitelli 80131 Naples Italy

Dig Dis Sci. 2024 Nov;69(11):4316. doi: 10.1007/s10620-024-08660-x. PubMed

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