CRYOTHERAPY
Cryotherapy is a minor outpatient procedure performed without anesthesia. It
destroys dysplastic cervical tissue identified by colposcopy and cervical biopsy.
A CryoProbe is placed over the abnormal cervical epithelium. The probe
temperature is lowered to –50°C with liquid nitrogen. This causes the metal
CryoProbe to freeze and destroy superficial abnormal cervical tissue. The
freezing lasts for three minutes; the cervix is then allowed to thaw, and the
freezing is repeated for another three minutes.
A watery discharge will occur over the next few weeks as the destroyed tissue
sloughs off. Follow-up Pap smears are performed every six months for two
years to ensure that the dysplastic changes do not return.
Long-term risks of cryotherapy include cervical stenosis.