Cryotherapy
A quick, in-office procedure, cryotherapy uses extreme cold (liquid nitrogen) to cause actinic keratosis to slough off and disappear.
What is Cryotherapy?
Cryotherapy is a quick, in-office treatment that uses extreme cold to freeze and destroy damaged or abnormal skin cells. It’s most commonly used to treat precancerous spots caused by sun damage, called actinic keratoses. As the treated skin heals, the damaged cells shed and are replaced with healthier skin.
What it helps with:
- Sun damage
- Actinic keratosis
How Cryotherapy works
Cryotherapy uses extreme cold (liquid nitrogen) to cause actinic keratosis to slough off and disappear. The liquid nitrogen is sprayed directly on the lesions, using a device called CryAc. This keeps the area frozen for long enough to destroy the precancerous tissue, while leaving the area surrounding the lesions unaffected to minimize the risk of scarring.
What to Expect
COST
Starting from $375 per treatment
RECOVERY
About a week
NUMBER OF TREATMENTS
Maintenance as needed
Frequently Asked Questions
Cryotherapy is quick and well tolerated. You may feel a momentary intense cold sensation, comparable to holding an ice cube against your skin, as the liquid nitrogen is applied. This only lasts a few seconds before the area becomes numb.
One cryotherapy treatment is often enough to treat actinic keratosis, but a follow-up appointment will be scheduled to determine the need for repeat treatment.
There is very little downtime associated with cryotherapy. Following treatment you may notice pain, throbbing, redness and swelling around the treated area. Additionally, a crust, scab, or blister may form at the site of the freezing treatment. This is a normal part of the healing process and the keratosis will normally fall off 1-4 weeks following treatment. The treated area may appear red as the skin heals post-treatment, but this should resolve within 1-2 months.
Limiting sun exposure, seeking shade, wearing protective clothing, and daily use of a sunscreen with a broad-spectrum sun protection factor (SPF) of 30 or greater should always be your first line of defense in preventing sun damage, including actinic keratosis.
