Skip to main content
PMC home page
Annals of The Royal College of Surgeons of England logoLink to Annals of The Royal College of Surgeons of England
. 1984 Sep;66(5):313–318.

Mechanisms of tissue destruction following cryosurgery.

D K Whittaker
PMCID: PMC2493682  PMID: 6435496

Abstract

Destruction of diseased tissue in situ by means of freezing is well established in many branches of surgery. The tissues are apparently unaltered at thaw but progressive necrosis ensues. There is controversy as to whether tissue death is principally due to the direct effects of freezing or to subsequent ischaemia. Studies at the ultrastructural level show that ice-crystals are formed within the cells during cryosurgery, that resultant cell damage is osmotic rather than mechanical and that microcirculatory changes are secondary in terms of the chronological development of tissue necrosis.

Full text

PDF
313

Images in this article

314Fig. 1
on p.314
314Fig. 2
on p.314
316Fig. 3
on p.316
316Fig. 4
on p.316
317Fig. 5
on p.317

Selected References

These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.

  1. Al-Drouby H. A. Oral leukoplakia and cryotherapy. Br Dent J. 1983 Aug 20;155(4):124–125. doi: 10.1038/sj.bdj.4805150. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  2. Barnard D., Lloyd J., Evans J. Cryoanalgesia in the management of chronic facial pain. J Maxillofac Surg. 1981 May;9(2):101–102. doi: 10.1016/s0301-0503(81)80024-0. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  3. Bradley P. F. Modern trends in cryosurgery of bone in the maxillo-facial region. Int J Oral Surg. 1978 Aug;7(4):405–415. doi: 10.1016/s0300-9785(78)80116-1. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  4. Emmings F. G., Koepf S. W., Gage A. A. Cryotherapy for benign lesions of the oral cavity. J Oral Surg. 1967 Jul;25(4):320–326. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  5. Emmings F. G., Neiders M. E., Greene G. W., Jr, Koepf S. W., Gage A. A. Freezing the mandible without excision. J Oral Surg. 1966 Mar;24(2):145–155. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  6. Feder M., Stratigos G. T. Current status of cryosurgery for benign oral neoplasms. J Can Dent Assoc (Tor) 1971 Apr;37(4):146–150. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  7. Gage A. A., Koepf S., Wehrle D., Emmings F. Cryotherapy for cancer of the lip and oral cavity. Cancer. 1965 Dec;18(12):1646–1651. doi: 10.1002/1097-0142(196512)18:12<1646::aid-cncr2820181221>3.0.co;2-y. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  8. Gill W., Fraser J., Carter D. C. Repeated freeze-thaw cycles in cryosurgery. Nature. 1968 Jul 27;219(5152):410–413. doi: 10.1038/219410a0. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  9. Hanna C., Sherman J. K. Survival of rabbit corneal cells after the formation and dissolution of intracellular ice. Cryobiology. 1971 Feb;8(1):46–72. doi: 10.1016/0011-2240(71)90105-2. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  10. Jolly M. Cryosurgery. Aust Dent J. 1976 Feb;21(1):35–47. doi: 10.1111/j.1834-7819.1976.tb04415.x. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  11. Krashen A. S. Cryotherapy of herpes of the mouth. J Am Dent Assoc. 1970 Nov;81(5):1163–1165. doi: 10.14219/jada.archive.1970.0363. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  12. Leopard P. J., Poswillo D. E. Practical cryosurgery for oral lesions. Br Dent J. 1974 Mar 5;136(5):185–196. doi: 10.1038/sj.bdj.4803153. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  13. Litvan G. G. Mechanism of cryoinjury in biological systems. Cryobiology. 1972 Jun;9(3):182–191. doi: 10.1016/0011-2240(72)90030-2. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  14. Odrich R. B., Kelman C. D. Cryotherapy, a new and experimental approach to the treatment of periodontal disease. Periodontics. 1967 Nov-Dec;5(6):313–317. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  15. Poswillo D. E. A comparative study of the effects of electrosurgery and cryosurgery in the management of benign oral lesions. Br J Oral Surg. 1971 Jul;9(1):1–7. doi: 10.1016/s0007-117x(71)80002-1. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  16. Rothenborg H. W. 125-I-serum albumin assay of edema in rat skin with and without vasoconstriction after cryosurgery type freezing. Cryobiology. 1972 Feb;9(1):1–8. doi: 10.1016/0011-2240(72)90002-8. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  17. TRUMP B. F., GOLDBLATT P. J., GRIFFIN C. C., WARAVDEKAR V. S., STOWELL R. E. EFFECTS OF FREEZING AND THAWING ON THE ULTRASTRUCTURE OF MOUSE HEPATIC PARENCHYMAL CELLS. Lab Invest. 1964 Sep;13:967–1002. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  18. Tarin D., Croft C. B. Ultrastructural studies of wound healing in mouse skin. II. Dermo-epidermal interrelationships. J Anat. 1970 Jan;106(Pt 1):79–91. [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  19. Zacarian S. A. Histopathology of skin cancer following cryosurgery. Preliminary report. Int Surg. 1970 Oct;54(4):255–263. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]

Articles from Annals of The Royal College of Surgeons of England are provided here courtesy of The Royal College of Surgeons of England

RESOURCES