Cryosurgery in removal of orbital tumors

Two cases in which medially placed retro-orbital tumors were approached transfrontally have been presented. The computerized tomographic scanner was important in the localization of both lesions. Although of different histologic types, both tumors were friable and vascular. This friability and vascularity would have caused severe difficulties in removal had it not been for the facility with which a cryoprobe froze and grasped tumor tissue. The importance of this instrument, previously unemphasized, has been pointed out.