The Hospital da Luz Coimbra Pain Consultation team performed for the first time in Portugal a treatment for pain control using cryoablation, which uses low temperature, in a patient with severe arthrosis of the knee. The procedure was performed by anesthesiologists Pedro Trincão and Edgar Semedo. Cryoablation (or cryoanalgesia with Crio S) is the destruction by ice crystals of nerve structures that transmit pain information without permanently damaging them and allowing slow regeneration without risk of neuroma formation. “It’s a safe treatment, minimally invasive, without hospitalization, performed under local anesthesia and with ultrasound or X-ray visualization, being indicated for moderate to severe pain”, explains Pedro Trincão. “In this case, it was performed on a patient with severe knee arthrosis (in which, due to advanced age and associated pathologies, it would be risky to resort to surgical treatment with total knee replacement), with excellent immediate results in pain control”, he adds. This treatment can be performed in other clinical situations , such as: Secondary craniofacial pain and trigeminal neuralgia; Headache originated in the occipital nerve; Thoracic pain after thoracotomy; Intercostal nerves neuritis Post-herpetic neuralgia; Various types of peripheral neuropathy; Knee pain, before or after surgery. In the photo above, the team that performed this treatment: Ana Santos (nurse), Edmund Kielbasa (Metrum Crioflex), Pedro Trincão e Edgar Semedo (anesthesiologists).
