This innovative technology uses precisely controlled electrical pulses to enhance drug delivery directly into abnormal vascular cells, achieving concentrations up to 10,000 times greater than conventional treatment. The result is a more effective therapy that may significantly reduce the need for multiple repeated invasive procedures.
A New Era in the Treatment of Vascular Malformations
The Angiography Unit at Shaare Zedek Medical Center is the first in Israel to introduce this groundbreaking treatment for complex vascular malformations, a group of congenital vascular disorders that most commonly affect children and young adults.
The new technique, known as Reversible Electroporation (RE), has demonstrated promising results, including in patients with complex malformations that had previously failed to respond to conventional therapies.
Vascular malformations are a diverse group of abnormalities involving blood vessels that can cause pain, swelling, bleeding, cosmetic deformity, and functional impairment.
Limitations of Conventional Treatment
Until now, the standard treatment worldwide has been sclerotherapy, in which a medication is injected directly into the malformation to shrink the abnormal vessels.
Although effective for many patients, traditional sclerotherapy often requires numerous treatment sessions over several months or years. Many patients undergo repeated minimally invasive procedures before achieving adequate symptom control.
How Reversible Electroporation Works
The new technology introduced at Shaare Zedek fundamentally changes this treatment approach.
During the procedure, the interventional radiologist delivers a specialized medication (bleomycin) directly into the vascular malformation through a tiny catheter or needle under advanced imaging guidance.
Immediately afterward, a dedicated probe delivers short, precisely controlled electrical pulses to the treated area. These pulses temporarily and reversibly open microscopic pores in the cell membranes, allowing the medication to enter the abnormal cells far more efficiently.
As a result, the concentration of medication reaching the target cells may be up to 10,000 times higher than with conventional treatment, leading to more effective destruction of the vascular malformation while potentially reducing the total number of treatment sessions required.
Clinical Experience at Shaare Zedek
According to Dr. Adam Farkas, Head of the Angiography Unit at Shaare Zedek Medical Center, who leads the implementation of the new technique:
“We are seeing outstanding clinical results, particularly in young patients who previously underwent multiple invasive procedures at other hospitals without sufficient improvement. This innovative treatment is finally providing a faster and more effective solution for many of these complex cases. The results have been so encouraging that most patients referred to us with vascular malformations are now considered for reversible electroporation as an early treatment option.”
Advancing Innovation in Israel and Beyond
Last week, specialists from hospitals across Israel visited the Angiography Unit at Shaare Zedek Medical Center to observe these innovative procedures firsthand.
The educational program also included an international webinar led by Professor Walter Wohlgemuth of Germany, one of the pioneers and developers of reversible electroporation for vascular malformations. The event allowed physicians to learn from the experience accumulated at Shaare Zedek and to help expand access to this promising technology worldwide.
