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Cryosurgery

»	What is cryosurgery?
»	How does cryosurgery cause injury?
»	Which agents are used for cryosurgery?
»	Do you need a lot of expensive equipment to use cryosurgery?
»	What types of skin conditions can be treated with cryosurgery?
»	How is cryosurgery performed?
»	How are benign skin lesions treated?
»	How do you treat malignant lesions?
»	Is cryosurgery a preferred method for the treatment of cutaneous malignancy?
»	What are the cure rates of cryosurgery for malignant lesions?
»	Are there contraindications to cryosurgery?
»	For which patients is cryosurgery better than other methods?
»	What are the complications of cryosurgery?

What types of skin conditions can be treated with cryosurgery?

Both benign (Table 52-2) and malignant (Table 52-3) lesions can be treated by cryosurgery. The most common lesions are warts, actinic keratoses, seborrheic keratoses, and molluscum contagiosum. Cryosurgery is one of the most common procedures performed by dermatologists.

Andrews MD: Cryosurgery for common skin conditions, Am Fam Physician 69:2365–2372, 2004.

	Table 52-2. Benign Lesions Treatable by Cryosurgery
	Acne Acrochordon (skin tag) Actinic cheilitis Actinic keratosis Angioma Chondrodermatitis nodularis helicis Dermatofibroma Genital warts Hypertrophic scar		Lentigo simplex Molluscum contagiosum Myxoid cyst Pyogenic granuloma Sebaceous hyperplasia Seborrheic keratosis Warts Keloid

	Table 52-3. Malignant Lesions Requiring Monitoring During Cryosurgery
	Basal cell carcinoma Squamous cell carcinoma in situ (Bowen’s disease) Kaposi’s sarcoma Squamous cell carcinoma Keratoacanthoma Lentigo maligna Metastatic skin lesions (palliative)