Percutaneous Spinal Ablation in a Sheep Model: Protective Capacity of an Intact Cortex, Correlation of Ablation Parameters with Ablation Zone Size, and Correlation of Postablation MRI and Pathologic Findings.

An intact cortex appears to protect against radiofrequency ablation-induced spinal cord injury, but not against non-impedance-based modalities. Ablation dimensions produced by microwave and cryoablation are similar to those expected, while radiofrequency ablation dimensions are smaller. Ablation of normal marrow produces a rim of enhancement at the margin of the ablation zone on MR imaging.