[Cryosurgery of the uterine cervix. Our experience in 3,184 cases]

An analysis is made of 3,184 cases of cryosurgery of the uterine cervix treated along 18 years for diverse types of lesions: 2,050 cases of ectropion of the cervix (64.38%), 811 chronic cervicitis (25.47%), 48 eversions of the cervical canal (1.51%), 24 of cervical condyloma acuminata (0.75%) and 251 of CIN (7.88%). A nitrous oxide cryosurgical system was used. This study evaluate the features of the cryolesion, correlating the freeze time, the size of the frosted area around the probe, the size of the resulting ice-ball and the depth of the epithelial tissue necrosis microscopically measured. For this study cryosurgery was applied to the cervix of 56 women, 1 to 7 days before hysterectomy was performed for benign disease. Statistical analysis was made using regression-correlation calculations to determine the correlation coefficient (r), concluding that the freezing effect and the depth of tissue necrosis are not correlated with the freeze time, but it was demonstrated that there is a reliable correlation between the width of the frosted area around the probe and the depth of tissue necrosis. The extension of cryolesion was influenced by the type of probe, the anatomical position in the cervix, shape of the external is and freeze time, which may be related with the pressure of the gas and the possible clogging of the tubes by pollution. In this paper it is studied too the histopathologic features of the cryolesion. The results obtained in the diverse groups of treated lesions were: 1. In 92% of cases of mucous ectropion of the cervix, one treatment was enough to heal the lesion.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)