What is Cryoablation?
• Cryoablation is a minimally invasive technique used to treat breast fibroadenomas. It produces no scarring or change in breast size or volume. To perform the procedure a small probe (about the size of a biopsy needle) is inserted into the tumor using ultrasound guidance. The cryo-probe is used to freeze the tumor, stopping its growth and allowing the body to absorb the dead cells naturally over a period of months. As the process is non surgical, it takes about a half hour and uses only local anesthetic. Patients are able to drive afterwards and most experience only minimal pain. This method is ideal for women with painful fibroadenomas; women with smaller breasts where removing the tumor would result in a visible difference in the patient’s breast size and shape; for women in the cancer age group, as leaving an existing benign tumor may make it harder to differentiate malignant growths from the pre-existing tumor; women with multiple or recurrent fibroadenomas; and for women diagnose
