The process was invented in 1978 by Toshima Yamauchi, a Japanese medical doctor who was seeking a treatment for rheumatoid arthritis.

How long has cryosurgery been around?

The use of freezing temperatures for the therapeutic destruction of tissue began in England in 1845-51 when James Arnott described the use of iced salt solutions (about-20 degrees C) to freeze advanced cancers in accessible sites, producing reduction in tumor size and amelioration of pain.

Who created cryosurgery?

Modern cryosurgery began through the collaborative work of a physician, Irving Cooper, and an engineer, Arnold Lee [15]. They built a cryosurgical probe that became the prototype from which every subsequent liquid nitrogen cryosurgical probe was built.