The appropriate use of liquid nitrogen

Abstract

Cryosurgery, from the Greek word "kyros" meaning icy cold, is 80 years old and has become firmly established in medicine as a modality for the destruction of superficial benign and malignant lesions. Its advantages include simplicity of use, few complications, use where radiotherapy would destroy tissue such as cartilaginous structures, little bleeding, only occasional need for anesthesia, and no need for hospitalization. Patients with pacemakers and elderly patients can be treated. A good cosmetic result is obtained and multiple lesions can be treated at one sitting. It is the treatment of choice for many basal cell epitheliomas on the eyelid, and in patients with multiple cancers, those allergic to local anesthesia, those on anticoagulants, and those patients with a history of hepatitis or other serologically transmitted diseases. Cryosurgery is not a panacea for the treatment of benign or malignant skin lesions. The physician must be knowledgeable about the clinical nature of the lesion being treated and must foster a degree of skill using cryosurgical techniques in order to avoid pitfalls and to obtain satisfactory results. There is no substitute for experience.