Procedure
Cryotherapy
Also called Cryosurgery, Liquid nitrogen treatment
Freezing unwanted skin lesions with liquid nitrogen, a simple office procedure that usually needs no anaesthetic.
At a glance
Who it affects
People with lesions that may be suitable for freezing.
What you notice
Warts, skin tags or other lesions need examination first.
What may help
May destroy a selected lesion with liquid nitrogen; healing and sessions vary.
What is cryotherapy?
Cryotherapy is a form of treatment in which freezing temperatures are used to destroy tissue. Liquid nitrogen, which reaches temperatures of −189 °C, is the refrigerant used.
What does it treat?
A variety of lesions can be treated by cryotherapy, including warts, molluscum contagiosum, keloids, skin tags, seborrhoeic and actinic keratoses, pyogenic granuloma, cystic and keloidal acne, and a variety of tumours.
What should you expect?
In the majority of patients cryotherapy can be performed without anaesthesia. During the procedure liquid nitrogen is sprayed on the lesions for a duration of 5 to 20 seconds. You will experience a burning sensation and slight pain during the procedure and for a little while afterwards, which is well tolerated by most patients. Each lesion may have to be frozen two or three times per sitting.
What happens afterwards?
You may develop a blister at the site within a day. It will gradually form a crust and a scab in seven to ten days. If it is a wart it may fall off in a week or two. Bigger lesions may need multiple sittings at an interval of one to two weeks before there is a response. You may have to take a painkiller immediately afterwards, and use a cream for some time.
How safe is it?
Healing generally produces a satisfactory cosmetic result, and any pigment changes usually fade over a few months. Cryotherapy is a simple office procedure, and whether it is suitable for you is assessed case by case.
Dr Satish wrote the chapter on cryotherapy in the IADVL Textbook of Dermatology, published in 2015.
“Cryotherapy is a fairly safe procedure and complications are few and rare.” — Dr. D. A. Satish, patient leaflet
How the clinic approaches it
Cryotherapy may be used for selected lesions after diagnosis. Suitability and response vary case by case.
Points to remember
- Do not pick a blister or crust.
- Follow wound-care instructions.
- Ask about pain relief.
Related pages
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