Cutaneous cryoanesthesia does not affect histopathology of biopsy specimens

Localized freezing of skin lesions in situ is widely used by dermatologists to provide anesthesia prior to excision or curettage. To determine whether this technique adversely affects the interpretation of biopsy specimens, we compared the histopathologic features of frozen and unfrozen portions of nine skin lesions, eight seborrheic keratoses, and one basal cell carcinoma. We detected no differences in the histopathologic features between the frozen and unfrozen portions of the lesions. We conclude that the technique of cutaneous cryoanesthesia does not adversely affect the histopathologic evaluation of skin lesions.