Premium
Shape retention in porcine‐septal cartilage following Nd:YAG (λ = 1.32 μm) laser‐mediated reshaping
Author(s) -
Gray Darren S,
Kimball Joey A.,
Wong Brian J.F.
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.1104
Subject(s) - cartilage , laser , irradiation , materials science , curvature , chemistry , deformation (meteorology) , biomedical engineering , anatomy , composite material , optics , medicine , geometry , mathematics , physics , nuclear physics
Background and Objective: Photothermal heating of mechanically deformed cartilage accelerates stress relaxation and results in sustained shape change. In this study, shape retention was measured in Nd:YAG laser reshaped porcine septal cartilage. Materials and Methods: Specimens were laser reshaped either 4 (Group I) or 28 hours (Group II) following extraction from the crania. Specimens were bent into approximately semicircular shapes and irradiated half way between the endpoints of the semicircle. Resultant bend angle was calculated based on linear measurements. Shape retention was calculated by comparing resultant curvature with pre‐irradiation measurements. Results: Mechanical deformation alone resulted in initial bend angles varying from 188° to 229°. Resultant bend angles varied from 84° to 194° corresponding to shape retention varying from 58 to 75%. Non‐irradiated cartilage retained less than 46% of the original bend. Shape retention was greater in Group II, compared to Group I. In Group I, no cephalocranial difference in shape retention was observed, though in Group II greater shape retention was observed in rostral specimens. Conclusion: While laser heating does significantly reshape cartilage, clinical use of this technology will require “overbending” of the cartilage graft to compensate for this memory effect. The degree of overbending is likely to vary with cartilage type and location. Lasers Surg. Med. 29:160–164, 2001. © 2001 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.