Knowra Cryotherapy Cryotherapy Cryotherapy uses extreme cold to destroy or alter tissue. In clinical practice, it is commonly called cryosurgery when used to treat a localized lesion.
Cryobiology : The study of how living systems respond to low temperatures and freezing. It explains the cellular and tissue responses that cryotherapy exploits.
Cryosurgery : The destruction of abnormal tissue by applying extreme cold, usually with a cryogenic instrument. This is the surgical form of cryotherapy used to ablate defined lesions.
Radiofrequency ablation : A procedure that destroys tissue by heating it with high-frequency electrical current. It ablates targets through heat rather than the extreme cold used in cryotherapy.
Cryotherapy complications : Unwanted effects of tissue freezing, including pain, blistering, scarring, pigment change, and nerve injury. These risks follow from cold injury extending beyond the intended target.
Liquid nitrogen : A colorless, odorless liquid that boils at −196 °C at standard pressure. Its very low temperature makes it a common agent for freezing superficial lesions.
Cryoablation : The targeted destruction of tissue by freezing, often performed through a probe inserted into the body. It applies cryotherapy to selected internal targets, including some tumors and cardiac tissue.
Laser ablation : The removal or destruction of tissue using concentrated laser energy. It offers a different energy source for localized tissue destruction.
Skin necrosis : Death of skin tissue caused by loss of viable cells and their blood supply. Excessive or poorly targeted freezing can cause necrosis beyond a small lesion.
Ice crystal : A solid, crystalline form of water that can form inside or around cells during freezing. Ice formation contributes to membrane damage and cell death in treated tissue.
Cryotherapy for actinic keratosis : Freezing treatment used to destroy actinic keratoses, rough lesions caused by ultraviolet exposure. Actinic keratosis is a common superficial lesion treated with liquid nitrogen.
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