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Laser resistance of expandable metal stents in interventional bronchoscopy: An experimental evaluation
Author(s) -
Hautmann Hubert,
Huber Rudolf M.
Publication year - 2001
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/lsm.1088
Subject(s) - stent , laser , medicine , airway , nd:yag laser , surgery , materials science , biomedical engineering , radiology , optics , physics
Background and Objective Nd‐YAG non‐contact laser therapy is used to eliminate recurrent tumor tissue within airway stents. This study was performed to determine maximum exposure time until the stent wire is destroyed as well as exposure time necessary to deliberately fracture the wire mesh. Study Design/Materials and Methods Strecker stents, Wallstents, and Nitinol Accuflex stents were implanted into pig bronchi. Then Nd‐YAG laser light was directed to the stent wires at different power levels. Portions of the stent surrounded by bronchial tissue as well as bare wires were investigated. Results The Strecker stent and the Wallstent revealed a considerably higher laser resistance than did the Nitinol Accuflex stent. At 15 W, minimum exposure time until wire destruction was 4.6 and 6.3 s for the Strecker stent and the Wallstent respectively. In contrast, the Nitinol Accuflex stent tolerated only 1.7 s. Conclusions Laser therapy with bronchial wire stents can be carried out at low power levels. It should, however, be avoided in the case of Nitinol Accuflex stents due to their low heat tolerance. Lasers Surg. Med. 29:70–72, 2001. © 2001 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.