Tissue cooling rod for laser surgery

A process for treating tissue, comprising the steps of:

• A) generating from a source a laser light defining a nominal wavelength,
• B) transmitting said laser light through a hand-held portable battery operated tissue cooling unit comprising a cooling transmitting element comprised of material transparent to light at said nominal wavelength and having high thermal conductivity and having a contact surface for contacting a surface of tissue being treated,
• C) inserting cryogen from a cryogenic container, mounted on or within said cooling unit, into a cryogenic cooling chamber for said cooling element, said chamber having an entrance port communicating with said container and an exit port,
• wherein said inserting permits a flow of vaporizing cryogen from said container into said chamber to cool said cooling element in order to remove heat from the tissue surface and to produce desired temperature distribution in target tissue and wherein the battery is mounted on or within the cooling unit.

A hand-held portable battery powered tissue cooling unit, useful for both cryogenic tissue treatment and for cooling tissue during laser treatment, comprising:

• A) a cooling transmitting element comprised of material transparent to light at a nominal wavelength and having high thermal conductivity and having a contact surface for contacting a surface of tissue being treated,
• B) a cryogenic container mounted on or within said cooling unit,
• C) a cryogen contained in said container,
• D) a cryogenic cooling chamber for cooling at least one surface of said cooling element, said chamber having an entrance port communicating with said container and an exit port,
• E) a battery powered cryogenic control means for permitting a flow of vaporizing cryogen from said container into said chamber to cool said at least one surface in order to remove heat from said tissue surface and to produce desired temperature distribution in target tissue being treated, and
• F) a battery mounted on or within said cooling unit providing power to said control means.