Sonographic monitoring of hepatic cryosurgery in an experimental animal model.

Several cryosurgical techniques for freezing hepatic parenchyma have been developed. To assess the efficacy of sonographic monitoring of hepatic cryosurgery, an experimental animal model was devised. Real-time sonography was used to monitor the in vivo evolution of hypothermically induced hepatic cryolesions in four mongrel dogs. The results suggest that sonography is an effective and accurate means of monitoring the entire freezing and thawing cycle in hepatic cryosurgery.