NEW DELHI:A 55-year-old woman suffering from gall bladder cancer and deemed unfit for surgery underwent cryoablation, a new form of minimally invasive treatment that kills carcinogenic cells with extremely cold gases, at a private hospital here.
The procedure was performed by the Department of Interventional Radiology at Sir Ganga Ram Hospital, which claimed it to be a "first-of-its-kind procedure" in north India for cancer treatment.
Explaining the procedure, Ajit Yadav, a consultant at the Department of Interventional Radiology, said, "Cryoablation works on the principle of the 'freeze-thaw-freeze' cycle. A thin needle called a cryoprobe is placed directly into the cancerous area under ultrasound or CT scan guidance. The cryoprobe circulates extremely cold gas like liquid nitrogen to freeze and kill cancer cells. Then the tissue is allowed to thaw. Finally, another cycle of freezing is performed. The time required depends on the size, location, and type of tumour," he said.
According to doctors, cryoablation can also be used for the management of other types of cancers, including in the lungs, kidneys, bones, liver and breasts in general.
The procedure takes about one and a half to two hours, they said.
"It is safe and the risks involved are generally lower than in surgery. An additional advantage of cryoablation is that it can be repeated if required," according to a statement from Sir Ganga Ram Hospital.
"For the first time in North India, we chose cryoablation for this patient as the cancer was relatively large and very close to liver vessels and other vital structures. Cryoablation ensured complete ablation of the cancer which could also be visualized in the form of an ice ball on a CT scan," said Arun Gupta, the chairperson and senior consultant at the Department of Interventional Radiology.