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Cryosurgery in Dogs
What is Cryosurgery?
Cryosurgery refers to the application of intense cold in order to kill living tissue. Indeed, the procedure is slightly misnamed since no surgical cutting is involved, so 'cryotherapy' is more apt. Cryosurgery is used to treat lumps on the surface of the skin or tumors in places where surgical removal would be difficult, such as the mouth.
It is not necessarily the first option for treatment, but reserved for patients for whom the anesthetic risk is considered unreasonable, such as elderly dogs. The actual procedure is temporarily painful, but can be overcome with local anesthetic. Cryosurgery used to be more popular than it is at present, and now first opinion clinics offer it as a treatment option.
Cryosurgery Procedure in Dogs
If you've ever been out in severe temperatures, you'll appreciate that 'cold' hurts. For small skin lumps, cryosurgery is temporarily uncomfortable, but for larger lumps, sedation and local anesthetic is required in order to keep the patient still enough to freeze the lump. For more delicate cryosurgery, such as on oral tumors or anal furunculosis, then anesthesia is required.
The vet will assess each case for suitability for cryosurgery. Hair needs to be clipped from around the lesion, but surgical sterility is not necessary. The surgeon is most likely to use liquid nitrogen contained in a special device with a probe attached to the end. The probe is placed against the lesion and a trigger pulled, which super chills the tip of the probe and anything it is in contact with.
The tip is held in place until a freeze halo a few millimeters wide develops around the lump. Then the trigger is released and the surgeon waits for the tip to thaw to release it from the tissue.
This freeze-thaw cycle is repeated two to three times.
Efficacy of Cryosurgery in Dogs
The success of cryosurgery depends on choosing the correct type of lump to use it on. It is unlikely to be effective for large lumps (above 11 cm) because freezing cannot penetrate right to the base of the lump. However, for skin tags, warts, or small superficial tumors it is a good choice.
Another plus of cryosurgery is that the frozen lesion eventually dies off and 'shells out', meaning it falls off. This means there are no painful incisions to be cared for or sutures where there is a risk of the dog pulling them out with the associated wound breakdown. However, this does not mean the dog can be allowed to lick the lesion whilst it is the process of dying and dropping off.
Cryosurgery Recovery in Dogs
The active freezing phase is painful, as it disrupts cells and damages nerves. However, once the lesion has thawed the nerves are deadened and so the recovery is non-painful.
It should be appreciated that the lesions often take around 2 weeks to die and drop off. During this time the lump is liable to swell, and can often look infected and sore. This is nothing to worry about, but a natural process in which the body sloughs off dead tissue.
Occasionally, a single cycle of three freeze-thaws is not sufficient to get rid of a lesion, in which case it might need to be repeated two to three weeks after the original cycle.
During the recovery period the area must be protected from licking or chewing, but is best left open to the air. Therefore expect the dog to wear an Elizabethan or buster collar.
Cost of Cryosurgery in Dogs
The cost of cryosurgery can be a few tens of dollars for a simple wart removed with a disposable single-use cryo unit, up to several hundred dollars. The latter is likely where a clinic is equipped with a special dewar to store liquid nitrogen, protective equipment for staff, and the special handsets used for treatments.
The cost will rise should anesthesia be needed, which will vary depending on the size of the dog and the add-ons such as intravenous fluids. This could range from $90 to $200.
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Dog Cryosurgery Considerations
Cryosurgery is a relatively safe procedure which is used in high risk patients, because of its lack of complications. One of the biggest considerations is that the procedure may need to be repeated if it wasn't successful after one cycle.
In addition, the dying tissue can look and smell unpleasant. The owner needs to be aware of this and be able to cope with an unsightly lesion for the two or three weeks it takes to drop off.
Cryosurgery Prevention in Dogs
Many of the conditions for which the use of cryosurgery is appropriate do not have a direct cause, therefore, it is impossible to prevent them. For the dog that has had one skin lump removed, it can't be ruled out that he won't grow a new one at a different site in the future.
Conditions such as anal furunculosis are linked to a particular breed, in this case the German shepherd. In the future screening programs to detect likely carriers of this disease would help to make appropriate selection of breeding stock a possibility, which the aim of improving the health of the breed.
Cryosurgery Questions and Advice from Veterinary Professionals
German Shepherd
Ten Years
3 found this helpful
3 found this helpful
My pet has the following symptoms:
Limp Due To Likely Hip Displaysia
Female do developed limp originating in rear back/hip/leg. Seems to be on right but hard to tell because of overcompensating.
Sept. 26, 2020
Answered by Dr. Michele K. DVM
3 Recommendations
Thank you for your question. I apologize for the delay, this venue is not set up for urgent emails.
It would be best to have your pet seen by a veterinarian, as they can examine them, see what might be going on, and get treatment for them.
Oct. 16, 2020
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Goldendoodle
12 Years
2 found this helpful
2 found this helpful
My pet has the following symptoms:
Cancer
can you do cryosurgery on Oral melanoma cancer?
July 22, 2020
Answered by Dr. Michele K. DVM
2 Recommendations
Thank you for your question.
It is difficult to answer your question without knowing the extent of the problem, how big the tumor is, how aggressive it is being, what else it's affecting, but as a general rule, you should be able to do cryosurgery on an oral melanoma, yes. It may just be as a debulking procedure, to make the tumor less impactful on his/her eating or drinking, and there would likely be other treatments that would need to happen to control the tumor, but it may be part of the toolkit to help. I hope that everything goes well for your dog.
July 22, 2020
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yellow lab mix
Oliver
16 Years
0 found this helpful
0 found this helpful
My pet has the following symptoms:
Stage 2 Soft Tissue Sarcoma
I am located in Victoria, British Columbia Canada and am trying to find a vet who offers cryosurgery for a stage 2 soft tissue sarcoma on my dogs side. It's approximately 7 to 8 cm wide and his vet here said it was just a fatty lipoma when it started growing 4 months ago. After insisting they not just leave it they did a biopsy. He just got diagnosed yesterday and they are recommending it come off as soon as possible. I am willing to travel and hoping to find someone quickly. Is there a data base of vets who offer this service? How can I find out who does this?
June 30, 2018
0 Recommendations
Cryosurgery is not a suitable treatment for all types of masses and any decision to use cryosurgery would be at the Veterinarian’s discretion carrying out the procedure; however, there is no database or easily searchable list of Veterinarians offering cryosurgery, but I’ve added a link below to a practice around Vancouver (would require a ferry) which list cryosurgery on their website as being offered in their clinic. Regards Dr Callum Turner DVM
https://cypressvet.com/pet-dermatology-skin-issues/
July 1, 2018
UC Davis the number one school in the country.
July 17, 2018
Lisa A.
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Cairn Terrier
Logan
13 Years
0 found this helpful
0 found this helpful
My pet has the following symptoms:
He Is Immune Compromised
Is cryosurgery an effective treatment for fungal type tumors found on the paw? My dog had the original tumor surgically removed but it has returned and is not responding to oral antifungal medication. There is concern that there isn’t enough skin available to close the incision for a second surgery.
June 26, 2018
0 Recommendations
Cryotherapy is used in human medicine for nodular fungal infections, but not so much in veterinary medicine; you should discuss with your Veterinarian their thoughts as the size of the nodule would determine suitability of any localised treatment using low or high temperature. Regards Dr Callum Turner DVM
June 27, 2018
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GSD
Samson
5 Years
0 found this helpful
0 found this helpful
My pet has the following symptoms:
Lesion , Licking, Constipation,
My dog has anal furunculosis, he has had medication and cream for 4.5 months. The lesion is on his but hole , at 2 o clock. My vet says to continue with atopica 200mg. Would laser or cryotherapy be successful in this area, moist and full of germs
June 8, 2018
0 Recommendations
German Shepherds are predisposed to this condition; medical and dietary management are usually tolerated well with surgery (including cryosurgery) being a last resort. Cases are treated on a case by case basis and any treatment needs to be given at your Veterinarian’s discretion based on the severity of the condition. Regards Dr Callum Turner DVM
https://wagwalking.com/condition/idiopathic-furunculosis-german-shepherds
www.ufaw.org.uk/dogs/german-shepherd-anal-furunculosis
https://veterinary-practice.com/article/anal-furunculosis-diagnosis-and-management
June 9, 2018
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