When it comes to cancer, minimally invasive procedures are in high demand. While radiation and chemotherapy are common options, the side effects can be physically and emotionally draining, at best. Luckily, there are other options for cancer treatment, like surgical resection (removal) and cryoablation. However, cryo treatment’s uses go far beyond cancerous tumors.
What is Cryoablation?
Cryoablation, also known as cryotherapy or cryosurgery, is a treatment procedure that has increased in popularity over the last decade. You may recognize this treatment as a more technically advanced wart-freezing technology; cryoablation operates on the same principle. Cryotherapy rapidly freezes and thaws tissue— this causes cells to rupture and be cleared away by the immune system. When tumors or unwanted tissue are targeted physically, the healing potential is limitless.
What is Cryotherapy Used For?
The most praised and discussed uses for cryotherapy are skin cancer and wart removal. However, there are many other applications for cryotherapy, especially when combined with open surgery. When cryo treatments are combined with surgery, we refer to it as cryosurgery. For these procedures, you will likely be sedated— rather than locally numbed— and need seven to ten days to recover.
Skin Tumor Treatment
As long as your tumor hasn’t metastasized, cryoablation is a fantastic option. Cryo treatments are generally used when resection is likely to fail, but radiation is too severe for the tumor.
Pre-Cancerous Tissue
Most commonly used for cervical pre-cancer, cryotherapy can stop cancer growth in its tracks. Cryoablation is a good option for pre-cancerous segments of fragile tissue since it can target narrow margins.
Warts and Skin Tags
You may already be familiar with the cryotherapy procedures that remove warts and skin tags; by rapidly freezing the unwanted tissue, the cells are destroyed and targeted for removal.
Pain Management
When used on nerves that create extreme sensitivity or abnormal amounts of pain, patients can find relief from chronic pain. Cryoablation can be used to desensitize nerves that are functioning abnormally due to entrapments or neuromas.
Arrhythmia Treatment
Some patients experience irregular heartbeat due to dysfunctional heart cells; using cryoablation during a minimally invasive procedure, a catheter containing a balloon is used to freeze and destroy the problematic cells.
Freckles and Age Spots
Many people struggle with excessive or large patches of freckles or age spots - areas of skin that have increased levels of melanin, the skin coloring pigment. By targeting these areas with cryoablation, the melanin-saturated cells are destroyed, leaving behind normal skin tissue.
Other Tumors
According to a 2016 article in Insights Imaging, Cryotherapy can be used in a wide variety of cancerous tumors. This treatment is effective for cancers of the lung, breast, bone, soft tissue, kidney, adrenal gland, liver, and pancreas.
Cryotherapy has far-reaching potential in the field of medicine, as is evidenced. For now, though, it’s incredible to imagine how life-changing this technology can be for cancer patients and those with chronic, unmanageable pain. For more information about our cryoablation program and techniques with Bay Imaging Consultants, contact us any time.