Cryosurgery with CryoPen | Bravo Medical Aesthetics

The CryoPen™ has taken 13 years to develop and is the most innovative, technologically advanced, yet elegant instrument in cryosurgery on the market today for the permanent removal of:

Sebhorroeic Keratosis (brown warts)
Milia
Solar lentigines (Age/liver/sun spots, freckles or dark, hyperpigmented lesions)
Popular Nevi (benign moles)
Cherry angioma (red blisters)
Verrucas
Skin tags
Angiofibroma (fibrous papules)
Granuloma (inflamed nodules)
Dermatofibroma (benign fibrous skin growths)
Molluscum Contagiosum (water warts)
Porokeratosis (dermatosis)
Condyloma acuminate (genital warts)
Actinic Keratosis (pre-cancerous skin lesions)
Other benign lesions

CryoPen™ treats benign skin lesions on the surface of the skin, many of which are no longer able to be treated by doctors under the NHS, due to their cosmetic nature.

What is Cryotherapy?

Cryotherapy is the use of extreme cold produced by liquid nitrous oxide for the fast, effective and safe solution for the controlled destruction of unwanted skin imperfections.

The CryoPen™ is a FDA and CE registered advanced cryotherapy innovation. It is a pen-like instrument which delivers a fine pinpoint spray of liquid nitrous oxide at a constant temperature of minus-127 degrees under high pressure which allows the therapist to work with millimetre precision. This means the nitrous oxide is delivered directly to the treated area and not to the healthy surrounding tissue.

CryoPen™ offers the ideal treatment for:

Age/sun spots, freckles and

sun damaged, pigmented areas

For the removal of any pigmented areas,

only one treatment is typically required

using the CryoPen™.

Age/sun spots are caused by an excess

production of melanin due to skin aging and

sun exposure or other forms of ultraviolet

light exposure, such as tanning beds.

They are most likely to develop on the areas

of your skin that receive the most sun

exposure, including the face, back of hands,

chest, shoulders and forearms.

Milia

Small, raised, pearly-white or yellowish bumps on the skin. They are most often seen on the skin around the cheeks, nose, eyes and eyelids, forehead and chest but they can occur anywhere on the body.

Sebhorroeic Keratosis

A seborrheic keratosis usually looks like a waxy or wart-like growth. It typically appears on the face, chest, shoulders or back of the body. You may develop a single growth or cluster of them. A seborrheic keratosis: Varies in color, usually from light tan to brown or black. Is round or oval shaped.

Cherry Angioma- Blood Spots – Campbell de Morgan

These are common skin growths which can grow on most areas of your body and are usually found on people aged 30 and older. The broken blood vessels inside a cherry angioma give them a reddish appearance.

They are no cause for concern, unless they bleed or change shape or colour. Cause is unknown, possibly a genetic factor, linked to pregnancy, chemicals or climate change and age.

The CryoPen removes the lesions in one procedure with no risk of infection and no post care required.

Larger ones will reduce in size but may dry out and take on a scab. When healed the scab will disappear or reduce in size and may need a further treatment.

Warts and Verruca

Warts are highly contagious and occur

when a virus comes in contact with the

skin and causes infection. Verrucae take

on the appearance of warts but are

flatter because they tend to be found on

the feet, where the dermis is thicker.

Shop bought topical preparations for the

removal of warts and verrucae use a “slow freeze” principle to destroy the cells.

A slow freeze gives the cells time to self-protect themselves, therefore taking a long time to destroy the lesion, if at all.

The Cryopen attacks the cells using a fast freeze (-40 degrees on the lesion in 12 secs), destroying the nucleus therefore removing the lesion as it has not time to protect itself. It is also believed that this process helps the immune system to recognise the virus so that the patient may be less likely to get a verruca again.

Pre-treatment:

Soak for 5 mins every day for one week prior to your appointment
Exfoliate or gently file every day, after soaking, for one week prior to your appointment

A second treatment may be required if the wart/verruca is very large or has been present for a few years to make sure no viral cells remain.

Skin tags

A Skin Tag is a small flap of tissue that hangs off the skin by a connecting stalk. Skin tags are not dangerous.

They appear most often in women, especially with weight gain and in elderly people. Irritation can occur if the skin tag frequency rubs against clothing or jewelry.

Women are more likely to develop skin tags than men.

Skin Tags are usually a few millimetres in size,

although can be bigger.

They are usually found on the neck, in the

armpits, around the groin, or under the breasts.

They can also grow on the eyelids or under the

folds of the buttocks.

Removing skin tags does not cause more to

grow with the CryoPen.

Moles (Nevi)

Moles are a common type of skin growth.

They often appear as small, dark brown spots and are

caused by clusters of pigmented cells.

Moles generally appear during childhood & adolescence.

Most people have 10 to 40 moles, some of which

may change in appearance or fade away over time.

Most moles are harmless.

Rarely, they become cancerous.

Monitoring moles and other pigmented patches

is an important step in detecting skin cancer,

especially malignant melanoma. All suspicious looking lesions will be referred either to your general practitioner or to a dermatologist.

How are lesions destroyed during cryotherapy?

The applicator is held as close as possible to the skin imperfection and moved quickly towards and away from it. This could be from 1-30 seconds, depending on the size and depth of the lesion. The CryoPen™ freezes at a rate of approximately 1mm per 5 seconds.

The nitrous oxide destroys the tissue by freezing the inter-cellular fluid in a matter of seconds, forming ice shards and crystals which rupture the membrane, thereby destroying the cell. That means there will be no collateral damage to healthy tissue. It’s so incredibly accurate and practical.

Is there pain with the procedure?

There will be a mild sensation similar to a stinging nettle on the skin when the nitrous oxide reaches the bottom of the area. There might be a little residual stinging for a few minutes after treatment and the area can be slightly itchy for about 10 minutes after the procedure. Most patients get an anaesthetic effect from the extreme freezing temperatures.

What does the area look like after treatment?

During the procedure, the area freezes and turns white. After this white area thaws, a flushing occurs and the area will turn red and a weal will form. After 2-24 hours after being frozen the weal may turn into a blister which may take several days to dissolve, however this is very rare. A crust will form over the lesion, which typically, after about 10 to 14 days, will fall off and the skin will then be healed. The skin may appear lighter in colour or pink, which then returns to its normal colour over a period of a few weeks. Lesions treated on the legs often take a little more time to heal.

For larger and deeper lesions a second crust may form making the healing time slightly longer.

Although it is best to try to leave the treated area uncovered, a plaster or simple dressing may be applied if it is in an area which may lead to rubbing and aggravation. It is important not to pick at the crust as this may lead to scarring.

Will there be scarring?

Rarely. Both hyperpigmentation (darkening of the skin) and hypopigmentation (lightening of the skin) may occur temporarily after cryotherapy. Both generally last for a maximum of a few months. Pigment change is more common in darker skin types.

What areas can be treated?

Anyone who is otherwise healthy can comfortably undergo a CryoPen treatment.

However, there are a few special cases:

• Firstly, it is essential that correct diagnosis of a lesion is carried out before treatment because some lesions can be related to cancer and it is quite easy to confuse these with ordinary, benign lesions. So, the expert advice of a doctor or dermatologist is needed as CryoPen cannot be used to treat cancerous lesions. If you are concerned about a lesion, or it has changed in any way recently, please speak to your GP as a first port of call.

• Secondly, CryoPen may not be used if the lesions are too close to delicate structures of the body such as the eyes.

Treatment will not be advised for pregnant women or breastfeeding mothers, as the risks are unknown, and you will be advised to wait until after this period of time in your life before having treatment.

What are the risks and benefits of the Cryopen treatment?

The treatment is very quick, usually taking a few minutes
Sterile procedure – No incision, no bleeding, no risk of infection
There is virtually no down time
The treatment is virtually painless
Cryopen uses state of the art cooling technology that doesn’t need dangerous cryogenic gases
No anaesthetic is needed

CryoPen therapy has been established to be very safe. However, be prepared for the following:

• Slight discomfort during the procedure - As with most lesion treatments, you’ll feel some slight discomfort while CryoPen is being applied. The discomfort usually feels like the pressure of a pen being pressed against your skin. However, unless you have a problem such as a skin allergy, it will only last a few seconds. Generally, no topical anaesthesia (or numbing cream) is required before treatment.

• Mild stinging following the procedure - Immediately after the procedure, you will likely experience mild to medium stinging that may last for several minutes to an hour. Again, don’t be too worried about the stinging as it goes away naturally.

• Sores and blisters - Rarely, the skin where the lesion was treated, usually becomes sore, red, weepy and blistered. It may sting for an hour or so after treatment. Often a scab will form in the following days. This is common where deep freezing is used and may cause pain immediately after the treatment. The practitioner may recommend topical or oral pain killers to relieve discomfort if required. It is important not to scratch or pick at a scab as this can lead to scarring.

The treated lesions should completely heal within 1 to 4 weeks and scabs formed around the lesion will shed after a week to 10 days. Lesions on the leg take the longest time to heal. Some people may develop a temporary change in skin colour (pigmentation) or slight scarring in the treated area – pigment change is more common in darker skin types and may not be temporary.

Hair follicles can be damaged by cryotherapy so if the lesion is within an area of hair, such as on the scalp, then a small amount of hair loss may occur.

Rarely there is potential for superficial nerve damage, depending on the location of the treated lesion. This may cause a temporary feeling of numbness or tingling in the area which may last for a few months.

If a treated lesion does not heal as expected, or there is pain or redness after a few days, then you should contact the practitioner again as these could be signs of an infection.

How permanent is the cure?

For most lesions, cryosurgery is a permanent removal. Some lesions are harder to remove than others. In more delicate places eg the eye area, a shorter freeze time with a repeat procedure may be required to get a final result with the least damage to the surrounding skin. In other instances a deep lesion eg a verruca or a wart may take several aggressive treatments to get final results. Clinical data shows that the results are permanent after one or two treatments. Some types of skin lesions may return in other places if you are prone to such manifestations.

What types of lesions should not be frozen?

All melanomas and recurrent basal cell carcinomas. Melanoma can spread by any of several means including local, lymphatic and blood. Additionally, Melanoma will change to a much more aggressive form if part of the lesion is left behind undetected. Basil cell carcinoma is typically spread by local extension and you may need more extensive surgery if recurrence is suspected.

Can anyone have cryosurgery?

Anyone who is otherwise healthy can comfortably undergo a CryoPen treatment.

However, there are a few special cases:

• Secondly, CryoPen may not be used if the lesions are too close to delicate structures of the body such as the eyes.

What if I have darker skin?

Repeated short freezing cycles of 3 to 6 seconds at two week intervals are recommended if you have a darker skin type. For very dark skinned people, you may not want to have cryosurgery, as it will kill the melanocytes around the treated area, making the skin in that area lighter.

Can I have the treatment in the Summer months?

The treatment can be performed at any time of the year. During the Summer months, a sun protection factor 50 (SPF50) must be applied at least 30 before sun exposure and reapplied every 4 hours.

How much does the treatment cost?

It is very difficult to state a fixed price as it will depend on the size, depth, quantity and area of the lesion being treated. Procedures typically last from 5 to 25 seconds.

As a guideline, a 5 second treatment would be needed for each pigmented area/age spot whereas a sebhorroeic wart would require a 25 second treatment.

Prices typically start from £65 for a small 5-25 second treatment, £85 for a medium sized lesion, and £100 for large.

You will only be paying £20 for any additional lesion treated on the same appointment; and just £20 for the first lesion should a follow up session is needed, and just £10 for each additional follow up lesion in the same sitting.

For a more accurate appraisal please contact us to arrange a consultation with one of our medical practitioners.