Orthopedic cryosurgical apparatus

Claim 1

Apparatus for performing cryosurgical procedures on bone tumors comprising: a source of a cryogenic liquid; probe means comprising a deformable U-shaped conduit having a pair of parallel, close-spaced arms and an intermediate bent joinder section, one of said arms having an inlet port on the end thereof, the other of said arms having an outlet port on the end thereof, said arms and joinder section having a uniform rectangular cross-sectional configuration along substantially their entire length between said ports, said rectangular cross-section having a minor dimension parallel to the axis of bending of said joinder section and a major dimension normal thereto, said probe means having a pair of U-shaped flattened planar heat transfer surfaces along said major dimension and spaced apart by said minor dimension, said probe means being formed of lead for being capable of gross configuration changes in said U-shaped flattened heat transfer surfaces out of the planar condition through deformation by hand and for retaining such configuration after deformation; a supply tube connected to said cryogenic liquid source and to said inlet port of said probe means for supplying the cryogenic liquid through said probe means; a discharge tube connected to said outlet port of said probe means for discharging the cryogenic liquid; and temperature monitoring means connectable to the bone tumor for monitoring the temperatures obtained in the bone tumor by the application of said probe means.