Flexible CO2 laser waveguide: a comparison of tracheal resection dosimetry and histology with the rigid waveguide

Christopher L. Slack; Michail M. Pankratov; Donald F. Perrault Jr.; Stanley M. Shapshay M.D.; H. Thomas Aretz M.D.

doi:10.1117/12.147011

1 July 1993 Flexible CO₂ laser waveguide: a comparison of tracheal resection dosimetry and histology with the rigid waveguide

Christopher L. Slack, Michail M. Pankratov, Donald F. Perrault Jr., Stanley M. Shapshay M.D., H. Thomas Aretz M.D.

Author Affiliations +

Proceedings Volume 1876, Lasers in Otolaryngology, Dermatology, and Tissue Welding; (1993) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.147011
Event: OE/LASE'93: Optics, Electro-Optics, and Laser Applications in Scienceand Engineering, 1993, Los Angeles, CA, United States

Abstract

The CO₂ laser has been limited in its application within the tracheobronchial tree by its lack of a fiber delivery system. Recently a new product has been marketed, Luxar's flexible CO₂ laser waveguide or Flexiguide^TM, a spin-off of the presently used rigid waveguide or Microguide^TM. The study was undertaken so as to delineate the properties and thus the usefulness of this new product which promised an increased ease of delivery of the CO₂ laser wavelength. We compared the flexiguide with its rigid counterpart along two parameters. Specifically, we determined the total energy necessary to endoscopically resect bovine tracheal rings with each guide and then examined the histologic crater characteristics of each guide at a given energy setting. In so doing we endeavored to see if the experience of the surgeon with the microguide could be translated to the use of the flexiguide. We found the flexiguide to require a greater total energy than the microguide in the continuous wave (cw) and chopped pulse (cp) operational modes p < 0.01. There was, however, no demonstrated difference in required energy in the superpulse (sp) operational mode. Preliminary histologic evidence when measuring such indices as crater depth, crater width, and shoulder width thermal damage seem to suggest that the flexiguide is less efficient at tissue ablation than its rigid counterpart at the same given energy. It also appears to cause a greater degree of associated thermal injury.

Citation Download Citation

Christopher L. Slack, Michail M. Pankratov, Donald F. Perrault Jr., Stanley M. Shapshay M.D., and H. Thomas Aretz M.D. "Flexible CO₂ laser waveguide: a comparison of tracheal resection dosimetry and histology with the rigid waveguide", Proc. SPIE 1876, Lasers in Otolaryngology, Dermatology, and Tissue Welding, (1 July 1993); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.147011

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