Premium
Comparison of Wound Healing Using the CO 2 Laser at 10.6 μm and 9.55 μm
Author(s) -
Converse George M.,
Ries William Russell,
Reinisch Lou
Publication year - 2001
Publication title -
the laryngoscope
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.181
H-Index - 148
eISSN - 1531-4995
pISSN - 0023-852X
DOI - 10.1097/00005537-200107000-00017
Subject(s) - laser , wound healing , significant difference , surgery , medicine , biomedical engineering , optics , physics
Abstract Objectives/Hypothesis The wound healing characteristics of incisions made with the short pulsed CO 2 laser tuned to 9.55 μm versus the traditional 10.6 μm were investigated. Previous studies have shown that at 9.55 μm, collagen is targeted more selectively than at 10.6 μm, which results in decreased acute thermal injury patterns. This study investigates the difference in wound healing over time between lasers and compares laser incisions with cold knife techniques . Study Design Randomized controlled trial using a porcine model. Methods Tissue from 10.6‐μm and 9.55‐μm incisions of 10 piglets was evaluated with histological analysis and tensiometry at 3, 7, 14, and 21 days postoperatively. A Bonferroni‐Dunn corrected analysis of variance analysis at a 95% significance level was used to compare the effect of wavelength. Results The results demonstrate that although knife incisions are consistently stronger than laser incisions, the 9.55‐μm CO 2 laser incisions are no stronger than incisions made with the conventional 10.6‐μm laser. Furthermore, histological analysis shows no difference in lateral thermal damage between lasers at 3, 7, 14, and 21 days postoperatively. The progression of collagen formation and inflammation does not differ over time. Conclusion This study of wound healing using a porcine model demonstrates that the 9.55‐μm CO 2 laser does not demonstrate an improvement in wound healing over the traditional 10.6‐μm CO 2 laser. These results may be secondary to the common explosive vaporization mechanism produced by both lasers in the infrared spectrum.