Cryosurgery

Dear Dr. Simon,
A friend of mine had her old dog's skin growths removed without an anesthetic using some sort of "cold surgery". Could you explain to me how this works and comment on how safe a proceedure it is.

Dear Pet Owner,
Your friend's dog under went what is known as "cryo-surgery". Cryosurgery is a surgical technique which utilizes liquid nitrogen or nitrous oxide to freeze unwanted tissue and consequently destroys it. The tissue which is frozen may take up to 3 weeks to fall off but fortunately there is very little discomfort to the pet during this process. Because the surgery does not require cutting and suturing the procedure may be performed with a local anesthetic and/or mild sedation -- no general anesthesia is required. The fact that a pet need not be anesthetized for cryosurgery is a great advantage when working on an older pet whose liver, kidneys and heart may not be in the best of health. Cryosurgery is also a big advantage when attempting to remove very vascular tumor that would bleed excessively using conventional surgery. Cryosurgery is performed with a special cryosurgery unit that freezes the tissue with either a probe or spray gun. It is generally used on smaller growths and on growths which would be difficult to cut out and suture closed ie. malignant oral tumors or tumors on the lower portion of the animal's leg. The procedure is for the most part very safe when performed by a veterinarian having sufficient experience in using this technique. Cryosurgery also provides the advantage that there are no sutures for the pet to lick out and fortunately most animals never bother the healing wound.

© 1999 Dr. John Simon
Woodside Animal Hospital and Bird Clinic