The Treatment

We want you to have a good experience with The Cryo Doctor. An important part of making that experience is knowing what will be involved in your treatment. This page is a description of what you may expect.

Please read this carefully. When you book an appointment, you are expected to have read and understand this information.

If any of this makes you uncomfortable, please get in touch before making an appointment.

What will happen at my appointment?

The doctor will review your medical history and examine your lesion. If appropriate for the treatment, the doctor will go over the information about the treatment. You will have already received this information by email when you booked your appointment. You will have the opportunity to ask questions. If you and the doctor agree to treatment, you will be asked to sign a consent form.

What is cryotherapy?

Cryotherapy involves the application of liquid nitrogen to a skin lesion with a specialised spray gun. Liquid nitrogen is extremely cold (-196C) and freezes the skin. The liquid nitrogen is applied for just a few seconds (around ten seconds), turning it white for a short time before looking normal again. This will feel like a burn and is usually well tolerated.

The treatment aims to remove and renew affected skin at the site of the lesion.

For most people with skin tags, these should fully resolve. For warts, verrucae and seborrhoeic keratoses, depending on the size, one treatment may be enough or you may need a repeat treatment. Repeat treatment may be required if the lesion has not completely cleared or on the rare occasion there may be no apparent difference. A repeat treatment is advised no sooner than two weeks.

What can happen immediately after the treatment?

After your treatment, the skin may appear red and feel a little uncomfortable, like you would after a burn. Sometimes a swelling may develop and this should settle after a few days. In some people, but not everyone, a blister may form. Should this happen, try to leave it alone. It will resolve by itself, form a scab and then eventually fall off.

Infection of the area is uncommon. If you have worsening pain or pus or both, you should seek medical attention from your GP Surgery.

You should aim to keep the area clean and dry for the first 24 hours after treatment.

What side effects can happen later on?

The majority of people will heal with normal looking skin. Occasionally, depending on your skin type, some people may experience:

Pigmentation change – the skin at the treatment site may lighten or darken

Scarring – rarely, a scar may form. This could be a pale flat scar or raised scar.

Numbness – if a frozen area involves a superficial nerve e.g. a finger, the area may remain numb but almost always returns to normal within a few months.

More information

For more information, The British Association of Dermatologists provides an informative patient information leaflet about cryotherapy. To read it click here.

wart removal falkirk

stirling

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

Will you treat my child who is under 6 years old?

Unfortunately, no matter how brave your child may be, children under this age generally do not tolerate the treatment well and is too painful for them. They can be put off seeing a medical professional in the future. For these reasons, treatment is not available for these children and is a condition of the registration with Healthcare Improvement Scotland.

Do you have any tips for a nervous child?

It is natural to fear the unknown. Many children are surprised how quick and relatively painless the procedure was. Many also accept the discomfort as they are determined to get rid of their skin lesion. Please read the treatment information and discuss with your child before attending the appointment. If there are any questions, you can ask the doctor and he will answer honestly and do his best to engage with your child.

Will you treat a lesion on my eyelid?

Yes. Anywhere except the lid margin. Treatment to an eyelid carries two extra risks: exposure to the eyeball and the thin skin in this area. The doctor will protect and adjust for the individual lesion and has treated eyelids many times with consistent success. It is worth emailing in a photo beforehand to be sure the doctor can treat your particular lesion.

My child is going swimming after. Is it essential to keep it dry?

You will be advised to keep the lesion clean and dry for 24 hours. This is as recommended by the British Association of Dermatologists for cryotherapy aftercare. However, keeping dry is not practical for some body parts e.g. hands. The key point is to dry afterwards and avoid soaking for a long time. Wet skin can be prone to infection and the reason for advising to keep dry. Some people will choose to swim shortly after treatment and in theory may be at higher risk of infection. Infection, however, is relatively uncommon. The decision to go swimming or not is your choice.

Why should I attend my GP clinic if I am unsure what my lesion is?

Payment is taken at the time of booking your appointment. If you attend with a lesion the doctor cannot treat, your fee is non-refundable. If you are unsure what you have, the advice to visit your GP clinic is only to save you some money and in case it is serious. However, if you are comfortable with paying for your consultation regardless of outcome, then of course you can just book.

Do you have wheelchair access into the building?

Yes. There is ramped access at the back door of the building. You can park in the rear car park and the door is a short distance from there. Follow the corridor down and turn left, Room 32 is at the end of this corridor.

I can't do online bookings. Can I book over the phone?

Online bookings are preferred as this is the most time efficient and keeps prices down. The doctor runs this clinic himself and is not readily available on the phone as he works at his GP clinic the rest of the week. A very small number of patients are unable book an appointment online. If this is you, the doctor can arrange to call you back and book over the phone. This is slower, however, and be prepared to give your personal details and read debit/credit card details out for payment.

Can you open on another day or the weekend?

The doctor works at his GP clinic other days of the week and he is the only doctor at this clinic. Days are therefore limited to when he is available. Occasionally, the doctor can offer an appointment after 5pm. You can email to ask if this is possible. As for the weekend, the business centre is locked, meaning less throughput and higher running costs which would have to be passed on to patients. There is no intention of opening at the weekends in the near future.

Will you accept cash?

No, sorry cash is not accepted. Payment is accepted with all major debit and credit cards.

How many times will I need to come?

Everyone responds differently after their treatment. This is unpredictable. Some may clear their lesion after one visit, some may require a few visits. The doctor will be able to give you idea of the outlook as you attend for repeat treatments.

Skin tags resolve quickly and often after one visit. Seborrhoeic keratoses can clear quickly too. Warts and verrucae can take longer. With verrucae, you are recommended to to soak and rub down hard skin as much as possible with an emery board, file or sandpaper before a repeat treatment. This allows the treatment to get deep down to where it needs to. You can try rub a wart down but some types bleed easily and then become uncomfortable.

Can you offer a fixed price for however many treatments are needed?

For the same reason as above, each person responds unpredictability. As a small business with overheads, and desire to make the treatment as affordable as possible, this unpredictability makes fixed pricing not financially viable. A fixed charge would have to be priced significantly higher in order to cover costs. The doctor is not able to justify charging more for a relatively simple procedure, especially when most people will respond in a reasonable time frame.