Background:
Minimally ablative therapies are now available for the treatment of lung malignancies. However, selection of the appropriate technique is not always easy and requires accurate preoperative planning.
Aims:
To describe the treatment of lung tumors with cryoablation.
Settings and design:
We report three cases of lung malignancies that recurred close to surgical clips after surgical treatment, successfully treated by cryoablation.
Materials and methods:
An initial freezing cycle was performed for 10 min, followed by a 5-min thawing cycle, and an additional 10-min freezing cycle. A final 5-min thaw was necessary to remove the needle from the iceball formed during the freezing cycle.
Results:
The procedures were completed successfully with no signs of surgical-clip misplacement, and excellent ablation of the lesions.
Conclusion:
Cryoablation is a relatively new procedure that potentially permits the local treatment of lung tumors with minimal loss of lung parenchyma.