Reportage on cryotherapy or cryoablation at Saint Louis hospital, Paris, with Professor De Kerviler. Cryotherapy, also known as cryoablation, is a technique used to destroy skin tumors, retinoblastoma in children or prostate cancer. The improvement of imaging techniques allows tumors to be treated, notably kidney tumors and bone metastases. This technique involves applying extreme cold via one or various needles (cryoprobes) to destroy the infected tissue, including cancer cells. Stages of freezing and defrosting the tumors destroy them. The needles are inserted through the skin guided by a scanner and are inserted so as to form a ball of ice which entirely envelops the lesion. The images on the scanner allow the ball of ice to be seen and to check the treated area at the end of the cooling stage. The anaesthetist nurses place surveillance electrodes for the electrocardiogramme.
