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Effects of CO 2 laser pulse duration in ablation and residual thermal damage: Implications for skin resurfacing
Author(s) -
Ross E. Victor,
Domankevitz Yacov,
Skrobal Miroslav,
Anderson R. Rox
Publication year - 1996
Publication title -
lasers in surgery and medicine
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.888
H-Index - 112
eISSN - 1096-9101
pISSN - 0196-8092
DOI - 10.1002/(sici)1096-9101(1996)19:2<123::aid-lsm1>3.0.co;2-u
Subject(s) - ablation , pulse duration , laser , materials science , laser ablation , pulse (music) , optics , biomedical engineering , residual , thermal , medicine , physics , algorithm , detector , meteorology , computer science
Background and Objectives Resurfacing with the CO 2 laser is rapidly gaining acceptance for skin rejuvenation. Advances in CO 2 laser and scanning technology allow for precise tissue removal with minimal thermal damage. High energy CO 2 laser pulses have been widely used effectively to smooth the surface of facial skin; however, pulse duration effects on ablation and thermal damage have not been systematically studied over the millisecond region (0.25–10 ms). Study Design/Materials and Methods This study characterizes the ablation threshold, heat of ablation, and residual thermal damage in skin resulting from CO 2 laser pulses with a Gaussian beam profile. Mass loss from fresh pig skin was measured with an analytical balance, and residual thermal damage was determined through histology. Results Pulse durations >1 ms were associated with higher ablation thresholds and localized increased thermal damage. Conclusions Our results show that although pulse duration is an important determinant in ablation and thermal damage, irradiance is more critical as an independent parameter in predicting the effects of CO 2 laser pulses. © 1996 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.