Cryosurgery for benign and malignant skin lesions: treatment with a new instrument.

The Foster "Froster" unit is a new and simplified liquid nitrogen system for use in dermatologic cryosurgery. The details of its operation are described and its use in various benign, premalignant, and malignant lesions is discussed. In malignant lesions, not only type, but frequently location, is important when deciding whether to use cryosurgery as the first, alternate, or adjunctive choice of therapy. Benign and premalignant lesions which respond best are sebaceous hyperplasia, dermatofibromas, actinic keratoses, leukoplakias, lentigines, and certain seborrheic keratoses and verrucae. Initial promising results have been reported in cases of swimming pool granuloma and chromoblastomycosis. Application of the described technics in one's clinical practice must depend primarily on the level of knowledge of skin lesions and on the degree of skill attained in cryosurgical methods.