A cryoprobe
system utilizing a monolithic, insulated, hand-held
thermal mass having an exposed tip for cryosurgical applications and the like, as well as a heat extraction base configured to interface with the
thermal mass to quickly and efficiently reduce the heat of the
thermal mass to cryogenic temperatures. The heat extraction base of the preferred embodiment of the present invention is configured to interface with the tip of the thermal
mass, such that the tip plugs in securely to the base, to permit an efficient
thermal transfer of heat from the thermal
mass through the base via a heat exchange
system communicating with the base which employs a low temperature cryo-
refrigeration unit. The cryo-
refrigeration unit may comprise a single low temperature cooling unit to reduce the temperature of the base to around minus one hundred degrees Centigrade utilizing off-the-shelf cryogenic
refrigeration methods, or may utilize a series of more conventional refrigeration units in a primary and secondary heat extraction arrangement, which method may further utilize
thermocouple or Peltier effect device assist to further reduce the temperature of the heat extraction base to the required temperature. Also claimed is the method of
cryosurgery employing the device(s) of the present invention, and a
heat pipe appliance to engage a remote treatment area.