Method and apparatus for cryosurgery

A method for freezing breast tissue of a patient comprising the steps of:

• forming images of the breast of the patient;
• generating with a computer aided coordinates to position a cryoprobe having a cryoneedle having a diameter of less than 5 mm in the breast of the patient, the cryoneedle has a sharp pointed tip, an inlet tube and an outlet tube disposed alongside the inlet tube, and a u-shaped channel connector connected to the inlet tube and the outlet tube through which cryofluid from the inlet tube flows to the outlet tube;
• guiding the cryoprobe into the breast of the patient based on how the cryoprobe appears in the images and the computer aided coordinates;
• sliding an insulation shell in place over a predetermined portion of a cryoneedle in the body of the patient;
• and
• flowing cryofluid into the inlet tube, through the channel connector and out of the cryoneedle through the outlet tube.