Hexodane as a viable freezing medium for cryosurgery

Abstract

Cryosurgery has been used for a long time as an effective treatment against both benign and malignant tumour of the bone. The procedure uses cryogen as freezing medium to introduce extremely cold temperature for eradication of recurring tumour cells through multiple freeze-thaw cycles. Commonly-used cryogens are liquid nitrogen and the Frozen Nitrogen Ethanol Composite (FNEC), which contains pure Ethanol that is cooled down by liquid nitrogen. At Tan Tock Sing Hospital in Singapore, orthopaedic surgeons have been known to utilize and freeze a type of antiseptic wash, Hexodane for use in cryosurgery. The objective of this project is to study the feasibility of Hexodane and determine if it can be used for cryosurgery through application onto porcine bone models. There is a total of two experimental phases in this study. The first phase presents a comparison study between the cooling effect of Hexodane and other semi-solid cryogens, while the second phase determines the feasibility of Hexodane for cryosurgery through application onto a porcine bone model. In this report, the results have shown that Hexodane is not as efficient as FNEC and cannot be used for cryosurgery within a single freeze cycle. However, it has other advantages, such as having a presumably higher specific heat capacity and a superior ease of handling as compared to other cryogens. Additionally, this report serves as a foundation to explain the basic cooling properties of Hexodane.