Pain management using cryogenic remodeling

A method for treating pain associated with a nerve of a patient, the nerve underlying a tissue, the method comprising:

• manually manipulating a body with a hand, the body supporting a needle, the body manipulated so as to penetrate a sharpened distal end of the needle into the tissue to thermally couple the needle with the nerve, wherein the body supports a cooling fluid source;
• transmitting cooling fluid from the source to the needle so that the fluid cools the needle and the needle cools the nerve sufficiently that the pain is inhibited;
• detaching the needle from the body and mounting another needle to the body,
• inserting the other needle into the tissue to cool using cooling fluid from the cooling source,
• disposing of the body and cooling fluid source after treating only the patient, and
• inhibiting refilling of the cooling fluid source so as to inhibit use of the system with another patient.

A system for treating pain of a patient, the pain associated with a nerve of the patient, the nerve underlying a tissue, the system comprising:

• a body having a handle;
• a needle supported by the handle, the needle having a proximal end adjacent the body and a distal end with the distal end sharpened for penetrating distally into the tissue to thermally couple the needle with the nerve via manipulation of the handle, the needle having a 22 gauge needle size or less;
• a cooling fluid source mounted to the body and supported by the handle, the cooling fluid source coupled to the needle along a fluid path;
• and
• a fluid flow control system coupled to the fluid path so that fluid flowing from the source along the fluid path cools the needle and the needle effects cooling of the nerve to inhibit the pain, wherein the fluid flow control system comprises a length of tubing along the fluid path between the cooling fluid source and the needle;
• wherein the length of tubing of the fluid flow control system extends in cantilever within a lumen of the needle, and wherein the length of tubing of the fluid flow control system has an inner diameter of less than about 200 μm and a tolerance of about +/−10 μm or tighter so as to provide a majority of the metering of the fluid flowing into the needle.

A system for treating pain of a patient, the pain associated with a nerve of the patient, the nerve underlying a tissue, the system comprising:

• a body having a handle;
• a needle supported by the handle, the needle having a proximal end adjacent the body and a distal end with the distal end sharpened for penetrating distally into the tissue to thermally couple the needle with the nerve via manipulation of the handle;
• a cooling fluid source mounted to the body and supported by the handle, the cooling fluid source coupled to the needle along a fluid path;
• a fluid flow control system coupled to the fluid path so that the fluid cools the needle and the needle effects cooling of the nerve to inhibit the pain;
• and
• a warm fluid source, the fluid flow control system configured to alternate between the flow of cooling fluid to effect cooling of the nerve and warm fluid flow from the warm fluid source in a plurality of cooling cycles with at least one thaw therebetween.

A system for treating pain of a patient, the pain associated with a nerve of the patient, the nerve underlying a tissue, the system comprising:

• a body having a handle;
• a needle supported by the handle, the needle having a proximal end adjacent the body and a distal end with the distal end sharpened for penetrating distally into the tissue to thermally couple the needle with the nerve via manipulation of the handle;
• a cooling fluid source mounted to the body and supported by the handle, the cooling fluid source coupled to the needle along a fluid path;
• a fluid flow control system coupled to the fluid path so that the fluid cools the needle and the needle effects cooling of the nerve to inhibit the pain;
• an interface releasably coupling the needle to the body,
• another needle coupleable to the body via the interface, and
• wherein a cooling fluid path coupling the cooling fluid source to the needle inhibits refilling of the cooling fluid source, a size of the cooling fluid source being less than sufficient for treating a plurality of patients to inhibit use of the system with another patient, the body and cooling fluid source being disposable after treating only the patient.