Cryotherapy: Uses, Procedure, Risks & Benefits - Cleveland Clinic

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What is cryotherapy?

Cryotherapy is a treatment where your healthcare provider applies extreme cold to freeze and destroy abnormal tissue. To create this severe cold, your provider will use a substance like liquid nitrogen or argon gas.

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Cryotherapy can be used to treat a variety of skin conditions and some cancers, including prostate and liver cancer. This therapy can treat tissue externally (on the skin) and internally (inside the body).

This treatment can also be called cryoablation.

Why do doctors use cryotherapy?

Cryotherapy is a minimally invasive therapy. This type of treatment removes damaged or diseased tissue that comes from a variety of medical conditions. Cryotherapy is usually done without open surgery. Most people recover quickly from the procedure and with little pain. Your provider might recommend cryotherapy for:

  • Bone cancer.
  • Cervical cancer, liver cancer or prostate cancer.
  • Precancerous cells in the cervix (lower end of the uterus).
  • Precancerous skin conditions and early-stage skin cancers, including squamous cell carcinoma and basal cell carcinoma.
  • Retinoblastoma (cancer of the retina in children).
  • Skin conditions like warts, skin tags or dark spots.

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