Cryosurgery (with cryo from the Ancient Greek ) is the use of extreme cold in surgery to destroy abnormal or diseased tissue; thus, it is the surgical application of cryoablation.
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Cryosurgery has been historically used to treat a number of diseases and disorders, especially a variety of benign and malignant skin conditions.
History
In 1841, English physician James Arnott described therapeutic applications of extremely cold temperatures, namely a mixture of crushed ice and salt applied locally (to skin or mucous membrane). He theorized his technique was capable of "arresting the accompanying inflammation and perhaps destroying the vitality of the cancer cell." His works were the first to hypothesize that extreme cold could be used to selectively damage or destroy harmful tissue.
Uses
Warts, moles, skin tags, solar keratoses, molluscum, Morton's neuroma and small skin cancers are candidates for cryosurgical treatment. Several internal disorders are also treated with cryosurgery, including liver cancer, prostate cancer, lung cancer, oral cancers, cervical disorders and, more commonly in the past, hemorrhoids. Soft tissue conditions such as plantar fasciitis (jogger's heel) and fibroma (benign excrescence of connective tissue) can be treated with cryosurgery.
Cryosurgery works by taking advantage of the destructive force of freezing temperatures on cells. When their temperature sinks beyond a certain level, ice crystals begin forming inside the cells and, because of their lower density, eventually tear apart those cells. Further harm to malignant growth will result once the blood vessels supplying the affected tissue begin to freeze.
Cryosurgery is used to treat a variety of benign skin lesions including:
Results
Cryosurgery is a minimally invasive procedure and is often preferred to other types of surgery because of its safety, ease of use, minimal pain and scarring as well as low cost; Bleeding can also occur, which can be delayed or immediate, due to damage of underlying arteries and arterioles.