UW Health radiology department uses cryoablation to freeze and destroy tumors.
What is Cryoablation?
Cryoablation destroys cells with extremely cold temperatures. Radiologists use an image-guided cyroprobe inserted into the skin to locate tumors and direct a small ball of ice that freezes and destroys them.
Depending on the tumor and the types of tissue, the range of temperature used in cryoablation falls between -20 degrees Centigrade and -50 degress Centigrade.
- Cryoablation allows for the use multiple probes simultaneously
- The freezing process is nearly painless
- Ice formation is easily monitored with ultrasound, computed tomography and magnetic resonance imaging
- The pattern of tissue destruction is predictable
- Very few complications