This procedure, the first of its kind on the African continent, relies on a sophisticated duality of sight and action. While Dr. Chimi Younes, a nuclear medicine physician, monitors the tumor’s cellular activity via a PET-CT scanner, Dr. Zentar Alaa guides a probe to the site. The device utilizes the Joule-Thomson effect—the rapid expansion of pressurized argon gas—to create an ice ball that envelops the malignant tissue. The team watches as the metabolic glow on the screen fades, a signal that the cold has done its work.
The patient, who sought treatment for a tumor in the scapular region, remained under the watchful care of Dr. Belkadi Kamal. Unlike traditional surgery, which would require significant incisions and recovery time in this complex area of bone and muscle, the cryotherapy approach allows for a localized intervention. The integration of artificial intelligence into the imaging system ensures that the freezing remains confined strictly to the target, sparing the healthy architecture of the shoulder.
The success of the intervention rests on the timing of the tracer, Fluorodeoxyglucose, which must be synthesized shortly before the procedure due to its rapid decay. It is this fleeting substance that allows Dr. Chimi Younes to see what the human eye cannot: the exact moment a cell ceases to function. For the patient, the result is a treatment that is as brief as it is precise, turning a once-daunting diagnosis into a manageable clinical moment.
By bringing together the disciplines of interventional radiology and nuclear medicine, the Oncorad Group has moved beyond the era of broad-stroke treatments. In the quiet of the Clinique du Sahel, the focus remains on the individual—the specific geometry of a single tumor and the careful, cold precision required to remove it without a scar.