Cryotherapy is a way of treating skin lesions with a freezing technique that causes the skin lesion to turn to ice and thus be “frozen off”. Doctors have used liquid nitrogen for many years to treat numerous types of benign skin lesions and as there is no cutting or injecting of the skin it is a very fast and safe treatment in experienced hands.
Our experts
Our Doctors have seen thousands of skin lesions and are happy to look at skin growths and advise on whether cryotherapy will work for them. Having had years of medical training and experience with skin complaints they are able to treat benign skin lesions with ease. All have used liquid nitrogen cryotherapy treatment for many years and regularly treat skin lesions on the face or body. Typical skin complaints that are treated are Warts, Verrucae, Skin Tags, Seborrheic Keratoses and Actinic Keratoses. These all respond well to the treatment and are common skin complaints treated by our Doctors regularly.
What to expect
Cryotherapy only takes a few seconds to administer. A skin lesion is sprayed with a small amount of liquid nitrogen for a few seconds and then this is reapplied a few moments later to ensure the lesion is fully frozen. Sometimes there may be a stinging sensation but this is usually short lived. The skin lesion is treated by the freezing process and it will usually come off after 2-3 weeks. As there is no cutting of the skin there is very little risk of scarring and the healing time is very short.
Aftercare
We generally do not need to see patients again after cryotherapy as removal of the skin lesions on the first occasion happens in most cases. If it does not resolve after the first treatment, we are happy to apply the liquid nitrogen again once more around 4 weeks later. It can be a little red and sore for a few days but generally it causes very little problems. This is a minor but highly effective procedure for the removal of benign skin lesions.
FAQs
FAQ
Will the skin lesion grow back?
Typically skin lesions are removed permanently with cryotherapy. However, there is a small chance that cryotherapy may not completely remove it.
Which areas of the body can cryotherapy be used on?
We are able to apply cryotherapy to skin lesions anywhere on the body including the face and around the eyes. We avoid treating genitalia as we recommend that this is done by the sexual health clinic.
Will it leave a scar?
With cryotherapy there is a very low risk of creating a scar, thus it is commonly used on the face.