Steroid Injections | Cardiff Wellness Centre

Cryotherapy

Cardiff Wellness Centre is pleased to offer Cryotherapy for skin lesion treatment—a safe, effective method for removing a variety of benign surface skin lesions using controlled cold therapy.

This treatment involves the precise application of liquid nitrogen to freeze and destroy abnormal or unwanted skin cells. It's commonly used for conditions such as warts, skin tags, seborrhoeic keratoses, and other non-cancerous lesions.

Cryotherapy is quick, minimally invasive, and typically requires little to no downtime. Most procedures are completed in just a few minutes, with the frozen lesion falling away naturally over time.

As part of our commitment to comprehensive skin health, all patients are assessed by a qualified clinician to determine if cryotherapy is appropriate for their condition.

What Conditions Can Be Treated?

Many abnormal areas of skin (lesions) can be treated with cryotherapy. This includes non-cancerous (benign) lesions. It is most used to remove areas of sun-damaged skin found predominantly on sun-exposed parts of the body. It is also used to treat viral warts, seborrhoeic keratoses (Seb warts / age spots), and other benign lesions such as skin tags, papilloma’s and verruca’s.

What Does The Procedure Involve?

Cryotherapy is often carried out by a healthcare practitioner at an out-patient consultation. The freezing agent applied to the skin by using a spray gun, a metal probe, or a cotton bud.

Cryotherapy does not normally require a local anaesthetic as pain is usually mild and short lived (although this does vary between individuals and according to the body site being treated). The procedure itself lasts a matter of seconds; the precise time depends on the thickness and size of the lesion. The frozen skin becomes white and takes one to two minutes to thaw back to normal skin temperature. Your doctor may suggest that the process be repeated once the skin has thawed.

Treatment is likely to produce a reaction like a burn. The skin may look red, swell, or blister. Redness may not be apparent in people with darker skin. After a few days, a scab will form, and this will take a few weeks to fall off depending on the site (occasionally a little longer, especially on the legs where healing is slow).

How Should The Area Be Cared For?

Aim to keep the treated areas dry for 24 hours. You can then wash the areas gently and pat dry with a soft towel or tissue. A petroleum jelly (such as Vaseline®) can be applied daily to help the area heal and prevent crusting.

It is important not to pick the scab as this will encourage scarring. A dressing or plaster is not usually necessary but may be advisable if the treated area is likely to be knocked or rubbed by clothing.

In most cases, the treated area will eventually look like normal skin, although scarring and changes in skin colour are possible, and rarely ulceration (broken down areas of skin), particularly on the lower legs.

Potential Side Effects of Steroid Injections

Immediate Side Effects

Pain– cryotherapy is usually well-tolerated but can sometimes be painful if a deep freeze has been necessary (i.e., to treat a basal cell carcinoma). This discomfort can occur both at the time of treatment and for a variable time thereafter. Painkillers (such as paracetamol) taken for the first 24 hours may relieve the discomfort; also taking a painkiller an hour or so prior to the anticipated treatment may reduce the discomfort.
Swelling and redness – this is a normal response to freezing the skin and usually settles after two to three days. For a short while the treated area may ooze a little watery fluid. Cryotherapy close to the eyes may cause prominent puffiness of the lower eyelids which settles within days.
Blistering– this is also common, and blisters settle after a few days as the scab forms. Some people blister more easily than others. Occasionally the blisters may become filled with blood; this is harmless. Blisters should only be punctured after seeking medical advice.
Infection – uncommonly, infection can occur, resulting in increased pain and pus: this may require an antiseptic cream or oral antibiotic therapy from the healthcare practitioner, or your GP.

Subsequent Side Effects

Scarring– rarely, a scar may form. You may be left with a pale mark or a flat white scar, regardless of your skin colour.
Hypertrophic/Keloid scarring– very rarely a raised scar can form following treatment with cryotherapy which appears as a rounded, hard growth on the skin. These are harmless lesions, more common in darker skinned individuals.
Pigmentation changes– the skin at and around the treatment site may lighten or darken in colour, especially in darker-skinned people. This usually improves with time but may be permanent.
Numbness– if a superficial nerve is frozen, it may result in numbness of the area of skin supplied by that nerve. Normal feeling usually returns within a matter of months.
Recurrence –treatment may fail, or the growth may recur. You might need a repeat treatment or a different treatment.

Meet Dr Choudhary

Dr. Bikram Choudhary is a highly experienced General Practitioner and Senior Partner at Valley Medical Group, where he has been providing dedicated patient care for over 15 years. As a GP with a Special Interest (GPwSI) in cardiology, he brings a strong background in surgery, having trained in cardiac, orthopedic, and general surgery.

Specializing in joint and soft tissue steroid injections, Dr. Choudhary offers effective relief for arthritis and inflammatory conditions affecting the knees, shoulders, elbows, hips, ankles, wrists, and smaller joints of the hands and feet. His expertise has led him to perform over 300 injections annually as part of a commissioned NHS network service, benefiting patients across the Rhondda and Merthyr Valleys.

Dr. Choudhary is committed to delivering high-quality, evidence-based treatments that enhance mobility and improve quality of life.

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Pricing

We offer high quality cryotherapy conducted by experts in their field at competitive prices.