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980 NM Pulsed Laser Welding Achieved Successful Tissue Closure with Minimal Injury
Dzana Katana, PhD; Yusuf Surucu, MD; Rakan Saadoun, MD; Bahaa Shaaban, MD; Hasim Ozgur Tabakoglu, PhD, Kacey G. Marra, PhD
University of Pittsburgh
2023-02-10
Presenter: Yusuf Surucu
Affidavit:
I certify that the material proposed for presentation in this abstract has not been published in any scientific journal or previously presented at a major meeting.
Director Name: J. Peter Rubin, MD, MBA
Author Category: Fellow Plastic Surgery
Presentation Category: Basic Science Research
Abstract Category: Aesthetics
Introduction:
Laser-tissue welding is an important tool that can simultaneously coagulate and cauterize to achieve tight wound closure. This method is superior to standard suture based wound edge approximation, with its fast wound closure and no risk of foreign body reaction profile. There is no laser-based method to successfully create potent closure without significant thermal injury. We aim to investigate different wavelengths to achieve better closure with minimal injury.
Methods:
Three vertical one cm full thickness skin incisions were created along the paravertebral tract on both sides of the dorsolateral skin. Contralateral wounds were matched to be closed with 980nm or 1064nm laser-welding with 1 watt for 10 seconds, 5 joules per wound. On post-op 4th or 7th day skin samples were collected and stained with H&E staining to measure wound closure, hyperthermal area, coagulation area and granulation area.
Results:
On day 4, 980nm tissue samples showed considerably less thermal damage than 1064nm samples. Shorter wavelength pulsation achieved greater closure on superficial wound edge, closing the wounds tightly. As compared to their counterparts, samples at 980 nm had smaller incision lines and hyperthermal areas. There was no statistical difference between the two groups in terms of coagulation area.
Conclusions:
Pulsated 980nm laser welding resulted in smaller wound with significantly lesser side effects on surrounding tissue. It is necessary to conduct further studies to investigate the longitudinal effects of pulsed laser mode on different wounds and animal models. Ultimately, laser application may prove useful for surgical skin closure in the future.
