Copyright: ©Author(s) 2026. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license. No commercial re-use. See permissions. Published by Baishideng Publishing Group Inc.
World J Gastrointest Surg. May 27, 2026; 18(5): 119504
Published online May 27, 2026. doi: 10.4240/wjgs.v18.i5.119504
Published online May 27, 2026. doi: 10.4240/wjgs.v18.i5.119504
Optimizing radiofrequency ablation parameters for perianal fistula treatment: A porcine model study
Sunseok Yoon, Woong Bae Ji, Jun Won Um, Kwang Dae Hong, Colorectal Surgery, Korea University Ansan Hospital, Ansan 15355, South Korea
Author contributions: Yoon S and Hong KD designed and coordinated the study; Yoon S and Hong KD performed the experiments and acquired and analyzed the data; Ji WB and Um JW interpreted the data; Yoon S wrote the manuscript. All authors approved the final version of the article.
AI contribution statement: we used ChatGPT-4o primarily for English translation, language polishing, and sentence-level refinement of author-prepared content.
Supported by Korea University Ansan Hospital, No. O2310671; Seoul R&BD Program, No. BT250226; and RF Medical Co., Ltd., Seoul, Republic of Korea.
Institutional animal care and use committee statement: The study was conducted in accordance with the guidelines of the American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA) for the euthanasia of animals and was approved by the Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC) of Cronex Inc., Seoul, Republic of Korea (Protocol Code: CRONEX-IACUC: 202302002).
Conflict-of-interest statement: The authors declare no conflict of interest.
ARRIVE guidelines statement: The authors have read the ARRIVE guidelines, and the manuscript was prepared and revised according to the ARRIVE guidelines.
Data sharing statement: The raw data supporting the conclusions of this article will be made available by the authors on request.
Corresponding author: Kwang Dae Hong, MD, PhD, Professor, Colorectal Surgery, Korea University Ansan Hospital, 123 Joekgum-ro, Danwon-gu, Ansan 15355, South Korea.
Received: January 30, 2026
Revised: February 13, 2026
Accepted: March 13, 2026
Published online: May 27, 2026
Processing time: 118 Days and 1.3 Hours
Revised: February 13, 2026
Accepted: March 13, 2026
Published online: May 27, 2026
Processing time: 118 Days and 1.3 Hours
Core Tip
Core Tip: Endoluminal radiofrequency ablation (RFA) is a sphincter-preserving option for perianal fistulas. However, standardized energy settings validated in true fistula tissue are lacking. Using a porcine model of perianal fistula, we performed ex vivo prescreening and in vivo histological validation of four candidate settings with a 50-mm segmental RFA catheter. The 120 °C/24 seconds setting produced the most effective ablation (highest ablation/granulation ratio) with the deepest and most consistent burn depth along the tract, providing a practical reference parameter for further translational studies.