Miami radiologist Michael Plaza, MD, is the first in Miami to use the Visica 2 Treatment System, a cryoablation device, to treat early stage breast cancer. The device destroys the tumor by freezing and damaging the adjacent vasculature that fuels tumor growth.

Cryoablation is minimally invasive and can be done in less than an hour. After injection of local anesthesia, a thin probe is inserted through the patient’s skin that goes directly into the tumor. From there, an “ice ball” is formed around the lesion through liquid nitrogen that is pumped into the probe. The tumor cells are destroyed from the freezing, which are then reabsorbed by the body as time goes on.

This procedure is said to cause minimal discomfort to patients who can return to work the next day.

“We saw great results in treating benign breast tumors, and with the growing evidence in the medical literature, especially the National Cancer Institute Z1072 Trial, we decided to expand our practice to include cryoablation of early stage breast cancer,” Plaza said in a statement. 

The National Cancer Institute funded a five-year multicenter study, sponsored by the Alliance for Clinical Trials in Oncology, in which cryoablation with the Visica 2 Treatment System proved to be 100 percent effective for complete ablation of invasive ductal breast cancer tumors.

Plaza began using cryoablation for fibroadenoma in February 2016, and he expanded to treating early stage breast cancer by October 2016.