What is ablation surgery?

According to Mayo Clinic, ablation surgery is a minimally invasive procedure that removes, or ablates, biological tissue using heat produced by radiofrequency waves, extreme cold from cryoablation, lasers or chemicals. Ablation therapy is used in treating cancer, heart conditions and reproductive conditions.

Hospitals, such as Brigham and Women’s Hospital, use cardiac ablation surgery to treat heart arrhythmia. The procedure uses a catheter to find the problem cells. Radiofrequency or cryoablation are then used to eliminate them. Cryoablation is also used in the treatment of tumors and some cancers, according to Mayo Clinic. WebMD indicates that ablation therapy is used to treat endometriosis, which can be treated with cryoablation, microwave, radiofrequency or laser ablation.