Thermal field management improves patient-reported outcomes during ablation for papillary thyroid carcinoma: A retrospective cohort study

Figure 3 Microwave ablation without thermal field management in a 27-year-old woman with papillary thyroid carcinoma in the left thyroid lobe. A and B: Longitudinal and transverse pre-microwave ablation ultrasound (US) images show a hypoechoic solid nodule measuring 11 cm × 0.9 cm × 0.8 cm; C: Pre-ablation contrast-enhanced US demonstrates hypoenhancement in the arterial phase; D: No effective fluid isolation zone was formed between the thyroid capsule and surrounding tissue (dashed circle); E: The active needle tip penetrated the thyroid capsule, and heat leakage (yellow dashed circle) was observed outside the capsule (dashed line); F: Immediately after treatment, the patient developed hoarseness; US revealed paralysis of the left vocal cord, fixed at the median position (dashed arrow).