Professor Hyuncheol Lim of Samsung Changwon Hospital Achieves 100th Radiofrequency Ablation for Liver Cancer

Professor Hyuncheol Lim of the Department of Radiology at Samsung Changwon Hospital, Sungkyunkwan University, has achieved his 100th case of liver cancer 'Radiofrequency Ablation (RFA)'.

This accomplishment was achieved in about one year after he transferred from Samsung Medical Center in Seoul to Samsung Changwon Hospital in March of last year.

Professor Hyuncheol Lim, Department of Radiology, Samsung Changwon Hospital. [Photo by Samsung Changwon Hospital]

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Radiofrequency ablation is a minimally invasive treatment in which the location of the tumor is precisely identified using ultrasound or CT, and then an electrode needle is inserted to ablate the cancer tissue at a high temperature of 60 to 100 degrees Celsius. The procedure is relatively brief, typically lasting 10 to 15 minutes, does not require surgical incision, and therefore causes less pain and bleeding, enabling rapid recovery with most patients able to be discharged the following day. In particular, it is considered an effective treatment for patients who are elderly or have impaired liver function and are therefore not suitable candidates for surgery.

Professor Lim is a pioneer who introduced radiofrequency ablation to Korea in the late 1990s. While working at Samsung Medical Center in Seoul, he led a team that performed over 15,000 procedures, of which he personally conducted about 5,000 cases. Drawing on his extensive clinical experience, he joined Samsung Changwon Hospital last year and has since established the foundation for advanced liver cancer treatment in the region.

In particular, he has strengthened the hospital's capabilities by establishing a multidisciplinary care system for liver cancer and liver transplantation in collaboration with Professor Kwangcheol Ko of the Department of Gastroenterology and Professor Jaewon Cho of the Organ Transplantation Center, both of whom worked with him at Samsung Medical Center in Seoul.

Professor Hyuncheol Lim of the Department of Radiology at Samsung Changwon Hospital stated, "I want to give hope to local liver cancer patients that they can receive high-quality treatment without having to travel to the Seoul metropolitan area," adding, "I will continue to do my best together with my fellow medical staff to deliver the best possible outcomes for patients with severe liver diseases."

Meanwhile, Professor Lim began his career at Hanyang University Hospital, then worked at Samsung Medical Center in Seoul starting in 2005, and has been practicing at Samsung Changwon Hospital since 2025. He has served as president of the Korean Society of Ultrasound in Medicine and the Korean Liver Cancer Association, and has contributed to raising the international profile of Korean radiology by co-founding the Asia-Pacific Society of Local Tumor Therapy.

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