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Pulsed Er:YAG‐ and 308 nm UV‐excimer laser: An in vitro and in vivo study of skin‐ablative effects
Author(s) -
Kaufmann Roland,
Hibst Raimund
Publication year - 1989
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.1900090208
Subject(s) - ablation , laser , in vivo , ablative case , excimer laser , excimer , human skin , materials science , biomedical engineering , er:yag laser , intense pulsed light , irradiation , medicine , dermatology , optics , surgery , radiation therapy , physics , genetics , microbiology and biotechnology , nuclear physics , biology
Abstract Using a pulsed XeCl excimer laser (308 nm) and a pulsed Er:YAG laser (2,940 nm), we investigated skin ablation as a function of pulse number, radiant energy, and repetition rate. In vitro analysis of lesions performed in freshly excised human skin were consistent with in vivo results obtained from experiments on pig skin. Pulsed 308 nm laser radiation caused considerable nonspecific thermal tissue injury followed by an inflammatory reaction and impaired healing of lesions in vivo. These findings were especially pronounced with higher repetition rates, which would be required for efficient destruction of larger lesions. On the other hand, the 2.94 μm Er:YAG laser radiation produced clean and precise lesions with only minimal adjacent injury. In vivo skin ablation caused intraoperative bleeding with deeper penetration. The Er:YAG laser offers a promising surgical tool for careful removal of superficial epidermal lesions, if higher repetition rates, and an appropriate laser beam delivery system are available for clinical use.