Cryoanalgesia for intractable perineal pain.

Cryoanalgesia, the local application of extreme cold to nerves to produce analgesia, has been used to treat patients with intractable perineal pain. The cryoprobe was inserted percutaneously through the sacral hiatus into the sacral canal to produce anaesthesia of the lower sacral nerve roots. Forty patients received a total of 70 treatments: 31 patients (78%) were helped by the procedure and the median duration of improvement was 30 days. The treatment was more successful in relieving symptoms in patients suffering from pelvic cancer and coccydynia. The best results were obtained in those patients who received numerous freeze applications or prolonged freezing.