NAKED EYE COMPARISON BETWEEN CUTTING AND COAGULATION EFFECTS OF KTP AND NthYAG LASER APPLICATION ON RAT LIVER

Abstract

This study was designed to assess the relative cutting and coagulation effects of KTP laser (wavelength 532nm.) vs. Nd: YAG laser (wavelength 1064nm.) on the rat liver. Eleven-week-old male Wister rats were used in the experiment. Comparisons Were made at different energy levels applied for different time period. Both contact and noncontact (working distance 5mm) applications were performed to induce lesions. The KTP/YAG Surgical Laser System of Laserscope^(R), which has the option for accessing either the Nd: YAG or the KTP energy independently within few seconds was used. Sacrifice times were immediately after lesion induction by continuous bleeding from the abdominal aorta. Comparative evaluation consisted of morphological examination of the wounds with measurements of the widths, depths and different zones of lateral thermal damages. The results of the studyindicated a considerable differences between the two surgical lasers in their cutting and hemostatic capabilities while used in liver tissue. KTP laser showed a better and definite cutting capabilities with a reasonable hemostatic effect while YAG gave a deep coagulation effect with larger lateral thermal damage. But YAG showed a poor vaporization or cutting performance. A combination of both seemed to be highly effective in liver surgery for both cutting and hemostatic purposes.