Cryoablation, curettage and cautery, and procedural consent
How liquid nitrogen and curettage destroy tissue, which lesions each suits and which they must never be used on, freeze times, cautery versus electrosurgery with cardiac devices, and what valid consent for a skin procedure needs under Australian law.
Tier 2Medical sciences concept
Written with AI assistance and fact-checked against the sources below. For exam study, not clinical decisions. How notes are made
At a glance
- Cryotherapy freezes tissue with liquid nitrogen (-196 °C). It suits actinic keratoses, viral warts, seborrhoeic keratoses and selected small superficial BCCs and SCC in situ.
- Curettage and cautery (C&C) scrapes away soft, friable tumour, then seals the base with heat. It suits small low-risk BCCs, SCC in situ and some well-differentiated SCCs on the trunk and limbs.
- Neither gives a histological margin. Both depend on a correct diagnosis first. A pigmented or uncertain lesion needs a biopsy, never a freeze.
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Sources
- Clinical practice guidelines for keratinocyte cancer (cryotherapy, curettage and cautery chapters)AU/NZCancer Council Australia (NHMRC-approved), 2019 living guideline (no newer edition found, November 2026)
- Therapeutic Guidelines: Dermatology (procedures, actinic keratoses, skin cancer)AU/NZTherapeutic Guidelines Limited (eTG complete), Version 5, 2022 (no newer edition found, November 2026)
- Good medical practice: a code of conduct for doctors in Australia (section 4.5, informed consent)AU/NZMedical Board of Australia, October 2020 (current, November 2026)
- Rogers v Whitaker (1992) 175 CLR 479AU/NZHigh Court of Australia, 1992
- Guidelines for registered medical practitioners who perform cosmetic surgery and proceduresAU/NZMedical Board of Australia, Effective 1 July 2023
- Last updated
- 14 November 2026
What changed
- 14 November 2026 Turnstile bot check on sign-in and signed-out feedback