SUMMARY
In case of primitive or metastatic bone tumors cryoablation is a technique that excels in respect to the others used up to now (1). The demolitive surgical techniques, radiotherapy and radiofrequency, are less effective in many cases, considering the speed of action on pain and the low invasiveness of cryosurgery, thanks to the possibility of monitoring very well the area that has to be hit, without touching organs and surrounding sensitive areas (2). We use thin needles called cryoprobes, which are inserted into the bones where the tumor lesions are hidden under TAC guide, or with open surgery under visual control of the surgeon. After about 40 minutes, they kill the cancer cells and destroy the nerve endings giving almost immediate relief to the painful symptoms.
GENERAL INFORMATION
Bones have many functions within our body: support and cushioning, protection (as skull for brain and chest for heart and lungs), and production of blood cells (white blood cells, platelets and red cells).
All the cells that costitute the bone tissue (osteoblasts and osteoclasts) may give origine to tumors.
Diagnosis
The most frequent bone generated tumors are osteosarcoma and chondrosarcoma, there are also tumors that develope inside the bones from cancer cells released by a neoplasia grown somewhere else.
These tumors can cause localized swelling and pain, fractures or impediment to movement. Diagnosis is done with simple X-ray, CT, MRI, PET CT.
Therapy
To Remove a bone tumor, using classical surgical methods, often emplies the necessity to sacrifie important segments of the body.
With Cryoablation it is possible to be more conservative in comparison to other therapies (1), such as, for example, the surgical extirpative procedures, radiotherapy and radio frequency. Also important to note is the fast curative effect on pain as well as the possibility to monitor the targeted area sparing sensitive surrounding organs and structures (2).
For the above reasons cryoablation is considered the most innovative technology in pain therapy and the most cutting edge in order to achieve excellent results in the shortest time.