04/06/2026
The way of the future…
A NEW MRI MACHINE LITERALLY DESTROYS TUMOURS - FREEZING THEM WITH NO SURGICAL INCISION
Sydney’s Liverpool Hospital has introduced Australia’s first dedicated MRI-guided cryoablation system, a breakthrough technology that destroys localised tumours by freezing them into precise iceballs.
The minimally invasive procedure, pioneered by Dr Glen Schlaphoff, uses specialised 17-gauge needles inserted directly into a tumour under continuous, high-resolution magnetic resonance tracking.
Once positioned, compressed argon gas drops the probe’s tip to a sub-zero temperature of minus 180 degrees Celsius within seconds, rupturing cellular membranes and cutting off local blood supply to kill the target tissue while entirely sparing adjacent healthy organs or bone.
Because the real-time MRI scanning allows specialists to visually monitor the boundaries of the freezing zone with microscopic precision, the procedure serves as a safe alternative for tumours embedded near highly sensitive structures, such as the spinal column, liver, and kidneys.
This technological milestone represents a huge evolutionary shift away from invasive open surgery toward rapid-recovery outpatient therapies. The MRI-guided cryoablation can be fully completed under general anaesthesia in a single day, allowing patients to be safely discharged within hours and experience total, systemic pain relief by the following morning.
(It’s introduction is published in the Journal of Medical Imaging and Radiation Oncology.)
