Lesion Size in Relation to Ablation Site During Radiofrequency Ablation

This study was designed to investigate the effect of the convective cooling of the tip of the ablation electrode during temperature controlled radiofrequency ablation. In vivo two different application sites in the left ventricle of anaesthetised pigs were ablated and in vitro ablation was performed during two different flow‐velocities in a tissue bath, while electrode contact pressure and position were unchanged. Target temperature was 80 °C. Obtained tip temperature, power consumption and lesion dimensions were measured. In vivo lesion volume, depth and width were found significantly larger for septal applications than apical applications (p