RSNA: Cryosurgery Turns Bone Metastases Into Iceballs Of Dead Tissue CHICAGO, IL -- November 30, 2001 Researchers report success in destroying bone and soft tissue metastases with cryosurgery guided with magnetic resonance imaging. In his oral presentation, lead author Sridhar Sankar, MD, a clinical fellow in magnetic resonance imaging at Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts, reported on treatment of eight patients with cryotherapy. Under MRI guidance, doctors placed a tiny hollow needle into the tumor. Through that needle they pumped pressurized argon gas that reached a temperature of minus-150 degree Celsius, Dr. Sankar said. "The cold gathers moisture from surrounding tissue forming an iceball that encompasses the entire tumor-killing it," he explained "There are many methods of killing tumors with heat, radiofrequency or cryosurgery," said Stuart Silverman, MD, associate professor of radiology at Harvard Medical School, "and all these methods appear effective. But I prefer this cryosurgery techniques because we can actually see what we are doing as the procedure is performed." Dr. Silverman said that by taking magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans every minute, doctors can actually watch as the iceball grows and can visualize when the tumor is encased in ice. The researchers freeze the tumor for 15 minutes, then let it thaw for 10 minutes and then re-freeze it, Dr. Sankar said. Follow-up studies with the MRI demonstrate that the area of the tumor-which once was bright in the MRI scans-failed to show any enhancement after the procedure, an indication that the tissue had been killed, he said. Contact Dr. Stuart Silverman sgsilverman@partners.org 12/03/2001; Doctor's Guide Remember we are NOT Doctors and have NO medical training. This site is like an Encylopedia - there are many pages, many links on many topics. Support our work with any size DONATION - see left side of any page - for how to donate. You can help raise awareness of CAM.