Cryotherapy
One modality of treatment of some specific / selective skin lesions is cryotherapy.
This means using very cold temperatures to freeze the lesion.
At Dickson General Practice, we use Liquid Nitrogen ( -196 degrees).
Depending on the lesion the duration and intensity of freezing varies.
What to expect post freezing
- Immediate swelling and redness
- The treated area is likely to blister within a few hours, depending on the depth and duration of the freeze. Sometimes the blister contains clear fluid and sometimes it is red or purple because of bleeding (this is harmless).
- Treatment near the eye may result in a puffy eyelid, especially the following morning, but the swelling settles within a few days. Within a few days, a scab forms and the blister gradually dries up.
- Usually, no special attention is needed during the healing phase. The treated area may be gently washed once or twice daily and should be kept clean.
- A dressing is optional but is advisable if the affected area is subject to trauma or clothes rub on it.
- When the blister dries to a scab, apply petroleum jelly and avoid picking at the scab.
- The scab peels off after 5–10 days on the face and 3 weeks on the hand.
- A sore or scab may persist as long as 3 months on the lower leg because healing in this site is often slow.
Complications
The main concern is secondary wound infection, but this is uncommon. Infection may cause increased pain, swelling, thick yellow blister fluid, purulent discharge and/or redness around the treated area.
Other undesirable effects may include:
- Delayed healing and ulceration
- Local nerve damage (usually temporary)
- Permanent hypopigmentation or scar
- Persistent or recurrent skin lesions, necessitating further cryotherapy, surgery or other treatment.
Frequently asked questions
GP@Northbourne is a Private Billing Medical Practice and we do not bulk bill*. Our fees reflect the quality of medical care provided and are competitive to other Canberra General Practices. This means privately billed patients will have an out-of-pocket expense due to inflation and the Federal Government not catching up with the Medicare Rebates for patients.
Please refer to our billing policy
*Preventative health and Chronic care plans will be Bulk billed for eligible patients.
These include:
Health Assessments for 40-49 year olds
Annual Health assessment for >75 year olds
Chronic Care Management Plans and Team Care Arrangements
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders Health assessments
Childhood immunisations
Childhood immunisations are bulkbilled, but if there was anything else to discuss with the Doctor, you may be charged as per the billing policy.
Travel Vaccinations will be privately billed as consultations are not Medicare rebateable.
COVID vaccinations are provided with no charge to patients (People without Medicare card need to attend Govt Centres or Respiratory Clinics).
If it has been over three months since your last review with your doctor, you are advised to have a consultation with your doctor.
Otherwise, your request will be forwarded to your usual GP who will decide to either see you or do a script. However, you MAY be charged a 15.00 admin fee.
If you have not received your rebate, then there has been an issue with Medicare. In these cases, you must contact Medicare directly to resolve this. Medicare is a Federal Government organisation and therefore we cannot do anything to resolve this issue for you.
However, we can assist by checking that everything is correct on our end, and if so, we can put you in the right direction. We can also send you your receipt which you can take directly into Medicare to get further assistance from them. If you require a copy of your receipt, please get in touch and we can provide you with one.
All Telephone consultations are treated as proper consultations and a fee applies.
Not all issues can be sorted on phone or via telehealth and the Doctor may need you to attend in Person. Usually, you will be charged only for 1 consultation if you attend on the same day, but you may be charged for a separate consultation if you attend later.
A gap payment is an out-of-pocket expense you must pay when you receive medical treatment. Privately billed patients will have an out-of-pocket expense due to inflation and the Federal Government not catching up with the Medicare Rebates for patients. Due to this inflation, the costs of running a doctors Practice have gone up therefore the fees reciprocate this and if they didn’t we would not be able to provide the services we do.