Cryotherapy Wart Removal Guide With Verruca Freeze Or HistofreezerPOSTED: May 17, 2010 at 3:53 pm BY: Administrator |
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Cryosurgery
Skin lesions like warts can be unattractive, uncomfortable, and sometimes even painful. Cryosurgery is an effective treatment method that uses extremely cold temperatures to destroy the tissue. Specifically, when the temperature drops low enough, ice crystals actually form inside the skin cells and cause necrosis, or cell death.
Cryosurgery, which is also referred to as cryotherapy, is often a better option than other treatment methods because it is less invasive than scalpel surgery or electrocautery. Compared with other methods of removing skin lesions, cryosurgery causes less pain and scarring. It’s also an affordable procedure that is relatively safe and simple for qualified physicians to perform. Many specialists perform cryosurgery, including dermatologists, gynecologists, and urologists. Pediatricians, general practitioners, and family physicians can also safely use cryotherapy to treat common skin lesions.
Cryosurgery Options:
Liquid Nitrogen
Liquid nitrogen is the most common method of cryotherapy used by doctors. It can be used to treat more skin lesions than the other methods, including cancerous lesions. The liquid nitrogen is kept in a dewar flask and applied using cryospray or a cryoprobe. This method provides an extremely cold temperature (-196°C, which in Fahrenheit is equivalent to the hard to imagine temperature of -320.8°F). Liquid nitrogen is very effective at treating skin lesions; however, the super cold temperatures can also cause unintended side effects, like damage to healthy skin. When liquid nitrogen is applied with a swab, the temperature is about -20°C.
Although liquid nitrogen works well for cryosurgery, it can present logistic problems. Large equipment and a significant investment are required to begin offering liquid nitrogen treatments. The shelf life of a typical dewar is only about 3-6 weeks, which means that physicians have to pay to buy more liquid nitrogen even if they hardly used it. Especially for doctors who are not performing cryosurgery frequently, liquid nitrogen can be too expensive. Additionally, standard dewars are not portable (spray devices are portable). Liquid nitrogen must also be shipped through a special delivery from a local gas company.
Verruca-Freeze is the coldest portable cryosurgery unit available. Although nowhere near as cold as liquid nitrogen, Verruca Freeze has an effective temperature of up to -70°C, which is well below the -20°C to -30°C threshold needed to destroy most benign skin lesions.
Verruca-Freeze is convenient because it is portable, easy to apply, and has an impressively long shelf life of over five years! Treating skin lesions with this cryosurgery system is bloodless, odorless, and self-anesthetizing. 21 different benign skin lesions can be effectively removed with this treatment. In fact, Verruca-Freeze has a success rate of 91.3% on the first application, and 100% on the second.
Verruca-Freeze can be applied with CryoCones or CryoBuds, and the whole procedure takes only two to three minutes. In addition, the formula (which contains trifluoroethane, pentafluoroethane, and tetrafluoroethane) is non-flammable, environmentally safe, and will not incur any hazmat fees.
The Histofreezer® Portable Cryosurgical System has been proven effective by 19 years of widespread use. It is clinically proven to produce results that are comparable to liquid nitrogen, but with less scarring and blistering. This portable system is also more convenient to use than liquid nitrogen, and has a much lower cost-per-application.
Histofreezer can be used on the 9 most common benign skin lesions. The effective temperature is -55°C, which is cold enough to destroy unwanted tissue quickly and efficiently. Use Histofreezer for a high average skin lesion resolution rate of 93.4% (actual resolution rate varies from 100% to 86% depending on the type of lesion; resolution rate is based on application of Histofreezer with post-treatment of 27% salicylic acid/17% lactic acid).
The Histofreezer solution is made of 95% dimethyl ether, 2% propane, and 3% isobutene. It is environmentally friendly and contains no CFCs. However, it is flammable, and H-60 and H-505 are subject to hazmat fees. The shelf life is two to three years, which is a significant improvement over liquid nitrogen.
