Challenging the Skin Barrier: Intermediate-Term Success of Cryoablation for Superficial Invasive Mucinous Breast...

We present a case of an 88-year-old woman with significant comorbidities, diagnosed with a 2.2 cm invasive mucinous breast carcinoma located directly beneath the skin without an intervening fat plane. Given her high surgical risk, the patient underwent percutaneous cryoablation instead of wide excision surgery. Real-time ultrasound-guided hydrodissection was used to create a protective plane between the tumor and dermis, displacing the lesion 10 mm away from the skin. Controlled freeze-thaw cycles were performed using a 13G IceCure probe, ensuring complete ablation while minimizing skin injury. The procedure was well tolerated with no complications. Serial follow-up imaging for three years demonstrated a progressive reduction in lesion size, evolving into a subcentimeter scar-like region. The patient remained asymptomatic with no recurrence. This case underscores cryoablation as a viable, minimally invasive alternative to surgery, even for patients with challenging tumor locations, advocating for broader adoption in selected elderly or high-risk patients.