Abstract
The purpose of this study was to evaluate laser evaporation of liver tumors under a fiberscopic laparoscope. We inserted a cholangioscope to the air-filled canine abdominal cavity, passed the laser guide fiber through the cholangioscope and irradiated the canine liver with 900 joules of YAG laser. The visible field was wide enough to observe both lobes and we could irradiate both lobes. Comparing to the operative laser evaporation, this technique is more valid because 1) there is no harm of total anesthesia, or 2) no harm of opening the abdomen. Comparing to the liver resection and transarterial embolization, this has also advantage because loss of liver function is much less. We conclude that our method will be a useful tool for the treatment of some kind of liver tumors in the future.
