Purpose: To determine the effect of selective intubation on ablation zone size during pulmonary cryoablation.
Materials and methods: Selective bronchial intubation and aeration was performed in three domestic swine. A total of 20 cryoablations (ventilated, n = 10; nonventilated, n = 10) were performed. The animals were immediately sacrificed, and their lungs were removed and sectioned along the axis of ablation in 5-mm intervals. The diameter and area of the ablation zone were recorded, and the isoperimetric ratio (measure of circularity) and estimated volume were calculated.
Results: There was no significant difference in maximum diameter, minimum diameter, area, circularity, or estimated volume of the ablation zones between the aerated and nonaerated groups (mean diameter, 2.4 cm vs 2.4 cm, respectively, P = .99; area, 4.6 cm(2) vs 4.8 cm(2), P = .7; circularity, 0.94 vs 0.94, P = .99; estimated volume, 11.5 cm(3) vs 11.3 cm(3), P = .99).
Conclusions: In contrast to radiofrequency ablation, selective bronchial intubation did not have a significant effect on the resulting ablation zones. This suggests that selective intubation may not be warranted in the setting of pulmonary cryoablation.