Spray Cryotherapy Ablation procedure shared “live” and in real time demonstrates the use of Rapid AV Catheter in Esophageal Cancer
CSA Medical announced the first live case highlighting the use of the company’s truFreeze® Spray Cryotherapy in a patient with esophageal cancer that was performed yesterday during a Live Case presentation at the 42nd Annual New York Course of the New York Society for Gastrointestinal Endoscopy (NYSGE). Vanessa M. Shami, MD, professor of gastroenterology at the University of Virginia Medical Center, successfully performed the procedure which was streamed live on December 13, 2018.
truFreeze utilizes the extreme cold of liquid nitrogen (-196 C) to ablate diseased tissue, including cancer, causing instant cell death. Together with a 16 Fr. CryoDecompression Tube, clinicians are able to get into constricted spaces, a characteristic of esophageal cancer. Moreover, truFreeze does not require the catheter to touch the tissue, enabling the treatment of nodular disease and unique morphologies.
“The inability to swallow and eat a normal diet significantly decreases the quality of life for patients with esophageal cancer, and can result in malnutrition,” said Dr. Shami. “I recommend spray cryotherapy ablation to many of my esophageal cancer patients because it penetrates deeper than other ablation therapies without the scarring and post-procedural pain associated with radiofrequency burning or balloon ablation. The ability to perform the procedure as an outpatient therapy that allows patients to go home the same day provides significant quality of life benefits to a population that may be suffering from a range of health challenges.”
The patient, in his 90s, had a recurrent tumor and is not a candidate for surgery. He opted for spray cryotherapy ablation of the tumor based on data demonstrating that this approach could improve his ability to swallow and eat a more normal diet without the foreign body sensation associated with stents. To date, the patient has undergone two treatments approximately one month apart and was able to return home the same day without the need for narcotics. Additionally, he did not report any noticeable side effects following each procedure.
“truFreeze spray cryotherapy is rigorously tested and widely adopted and is the only FDA-cleared therapy proven to treat the entire esophageal disease spectrum, including esophageal cancer. For the patient, there is also data that supports spray cryotherapy resulting in less pain than other ablative therapies,” said Wendelin Maners, CSA’s President, truFreeze Business. “Dr. Shami’s live procedure underscored not only truFreeze’s ease of use, but also the important quality of life improvements that spray cryotherapy can achieve for this patient population. We hope that today’s demonstration will remind gastroenterologists to incorporate truFreeze into their treatment algorithm for both Barrett’s esophagus and esophageal cancer patients.”
