Abstract
We describe here a highly durable 1,000-μm quartz optical fiber whose distal tip has been bent 45°, allowing endoscopic delivery of neodymium:YAG (Nd:YAG) laser energy at an angle of 60°. Both potato dosimetry and canine animal studies have shown it to be comparable to other angled delivery systems with two added advantages: it can deliver greater power over longer time periods to produce large volumes of coagulated necrosis, and it can be operated in a contact mode within a fluid medium without fiber "burn-out." This fiber should prove useful for transurethral laser ablation of the prostate.
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