Abstract
Objective: The purpose of the present study was to compare the healing process of rabbit's skin after the ablation of continuous wave CO2 laser and pulsed CO2 laser at low irradiances. Background Data: Because of its advantages, the CO2 laser has been viewed as an alternative to the traditional scalpel. Simple thermal models suggest that suitably short pulses of laser irradiation can leave a smaller thermal damaged zone to ablated tissue, which may lead to faster healing. Methods: One continuous-wave (cw, 2 watt) and two pulsed CO2 lasers (sp1, 100 Hz, 2 watt; and sp2, 25 Hz, 2 watt) were used to ablate twelve rabbits' ear skin for 2 min, respectively. After sacrifice at 0, 3, 7, 14, 28, and 56 days postsurgery, gross observation and histological examination were performed. Results: sp1 and sp2 resulted in similar ablation rates to cw laser. At 3, 7, 14, and 28 days postsurgery, the scores of the group cw were significantly lower than both the sp1 and sp2 scores (p < 0.01). From 7 to 28 days, wounds of sp1 showed the best histological outcomes. Conclusion: At a relatively low irradiance, pulsed CO2 laser is capable of bloodless skin ablation with improved wound healing. Increasing repetition rate of the CO2 laser may help to achieve a better surgical outcome. Pulsed CO2 laser may be a valuable instrument for ablation skin and skin lesions.
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