RESUMEN
<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To investigate the effects of cryoablation on different bronchi of normal pigs and provide experimental bases for the potential clinical application of this technique.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>Six normal pigs were divided into two groups and subjected to percutaneous cryoablation of the lung tissues. Three pigs were sacrificed on day 3 (group A) and another 3 on day 28 (group B) after the ablation, and the morphology and volume of the ablated areas and the pathological changes in different bronchi.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>In group A, examination of the biopsy samples taken 3 days after the ablation revealed significantly greater maximal longitudinal (t=9.789, P=0.000) and transverse (t=3.253, P=0.023) diameters of the area of freezing damage than those observed immediately after the cryoablation. The diameters of the freezing damage area in group B were significantly smaller than those in group A (t=7.227, P=0.000; t=6.006, P=0.001). The freezing damages to the bronchi worsened with the reduction of the bronchial lumen; the damages to the major bronchi and the second-order bronchi were relatively slight, which also showed better recovery 28 days after the ablation.</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>CT-guided percutaneous cryoablation does not produce serious effects on the major bronchi and the second-order bronchus, and can be a minimally invasive therapy for lung tumors with good tolerance and safety.</p>