Cryotherapy is something that many people have heard of as being used on humans, but far fewer realize that it is also a highly effective treatment that is also being used in veterinary care.
Cryotherapy involves the application of liquid nitrogen to a specific area of your pet’s body with the intention of freezing and destroying the diseased tissues. Since it can be applied with precision, there is no damage to any surrounding healthy tissues. The entire process is non-invasive, and whilst local anesthetic may be given to help reduce any discomfort, the use of liquid nitrogen naturally numbs the area anyway. There is also minimal to no downtime for your pet, enabling them to recover and get back to enjoying life straight away.
Once the treatment is complete, the frozen growth will turn red and blister. A scab will form that, within 2-3 weeks, will fall off and reveal healthy, lesion-free tissue.
Is My Pet a Candidate for Cryotherapy?
Although widely available, cryotherapy isn’t necessarily the most suitable option for your pet. For this reason, they will have to undergo a consultation before being approved for the treatment. This will involve a comprehensive evaluation of the health and condition of your pet, and the problem that is affecting them, to determine if cryotherapy will be the most effective choice of treatment.
Issues That Cryotherapy Can Treat
Unsurprisingly, for your pet to be a good candidate for cryotherapy, they need to have a condition that can be treated using this technique. Cryotherapy in pets is primarily used to treat abnormal or disease skin tissues. These include:
- Skin tags
- Warts
- Infected lesions
- Cysts
- Benign tumors
- Cancerous tumors
If your pet has been diagnosed with any of these issues, cryotherapy may be the ideal treatment.
Cryotherapy for Older Pets and Those with Health Problems
Cryotherapy is a particularly good option for those pets that are considered unsuitable for conventional surgery. In most instances, this stems from being deemed too high risk to undergo a general anesthetic.
Anesthesia presents a small risk to any pet (as well as any human), and this is one of the main reasons why every animal is assessed for their suitability prior to their surgery. Older pets, very young pets and those suffering from specific health problems may be considered to be too high risk for surgery. This is when the benefit of the procedure doesn’t outweigh the benefit of the surgery. As a result, minimally or non-invasive treatments, such as cryotherapy, maybe a more suitable option since many cryotherapy procedures can be carried out with only local anesthetic or no anesthetic at all.
If you would like to find out more about pet cryotherapy or to schedule a consultation to see if your pet is a good candidate for this effective treatment technique, please get in touch with our veterinary clinic in Ashtabula, OH.
