XeCl Laser Surgery of the Vocal Cords: A Histologic Comparison with CO 2 Laser in a Porcine Model

Abstract

Fresh cadaveric pig larynxes were ablated with a CO₂ (λ = 10.6 μm) and a XeCl excimer (λ = 308 nm) laser. Histologic comparison of the ablation craters created by the two lasers was performed, and ablation crater depth and marginal tissue damage were measured. Crater depth for both laser treatments is correlated with energy deposition and exposure time. The CO₂ laser creates three times more nonspecific, marginal tissue damage than the XeCl laser at the ranges of total energy and exposure times used. This study demonstrates the potential of the XeCl laser as an alternative to the CO₂ laser in microlaryngeal surgery.