Patent ID: 6846311

Claim:
A method of treating atypical tissue in the mammary duct of a woman's breast using a micro-endoscope assembly having a distal end with a diameter ranging from 0.5 mm to about 1.2 nm, the method comprising the steps of: a. administering a dosage of a chemical fluorescent marker compound into the interior of a mammary duct; b. incubating said fluorescent marker compound in the duct from about 1 to about 4 hours; c. inserting the distal end of the micro-endoscope into the mammary duct of a woman patient; d. transmitting light into the dosed mammary duct to match the excitation frequency of the marker compound causing atypica tissue to fluoresce; e. viewing the interior of the duct until the location of tissue fluorescence is ascertained; f. positioning the micro-endoscope assembly proximate the atypical tissue; g. transmitting light through said micro-endoscope onto the atypical tissue at a wave length suitable to cause fluoresced cells to be destroyed; and h. withdrawing the micro-endoscope from said mammary duct.