Dermatological Cryosurgery in Primary Care with Dimethyl Ether Propane Spray in Comparison with Liquid Nitrogen

The simplest method of freezing is topical application on lesions which one wishes to destroy of a cottonwool swab saturated by immersion in liquid nitrogen (LN). This cryogenic agent, having a temperature of -196°C, is very effective in elimination of a large variety of very common benign and premalignant skin lesions (verrucas, molluscum contagiosum, seborrheic and actinic keratoses...). Unfortunately, because of its extremely low boiling point, the substance has to be stored in special containers which are not available in the Health Centers in our environment. An infrastructural deficiency is therefore the main limiting factor for cryosurgery in general medical practice in Spain.