Cryotherapy for endobronchial disorders

Cryotherapy has been used for destruction of endobronchial tumors. Cryother apy works by its cytotoxic effect, by freezing the tissue, thus causing tis sue death. Cryotherapy can be performed by rigid bronchoscopy under general anesthesia. It can also be performed by fiberoptic bronchoscopy under seda tion and local anesthesia. The indications for cryotherapy are similar to t hose for endobronchial laser or electrocautery. The purpose of cryotherapy is essentially to ablate the endobronchial tumor. Cryotherapy has also been used for treatment of carcinoma in situ as well as benign endobronchial tu mors. The advantages which cryotherapy provides is safety not only for the operator, but also for the patient. The major counterindication for cryothe rapy is a patient with impending respiratory failure. In certain situations cryotherapy has also shown to have a beneficial effect in conjunction with radiation therapy as well as chemotherapy. Cryotherapy offers an alternati ve for endobronchial tumor ablation with significant safety as well as bein g relatively inexpensive.