Ultrashort pulse laser ossicular ablation and stapedotomy in cadaveric bone

• Published in: Lasers in surgery and medicine 2002-03, Vol.30 (3), p.216-220
• Main Authors: Armstrong, William B., Neev, Joseph A., Da Silva, Luiz B., Rubenchik, Alexander M., C. Stuart, Brent
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Biological and medical sciences; Cadaver; Ear Ossicles - surgery; femtosecond; hard tissue; Head and neck surgery. Maxillofacial surgery. Dental surgery. Orthodontics; Humans; Laser Therapy - adverse effects; Laser Therapy - methods; Medical sciences; otolaryngology; otosclerosis; stapes; Stapes Surgery - adverse effects; Stapes Surgery - methods; Surgery (general aspects). Transplantations, organ and tissue grafts. Graft diseases; Surgery of the ear, the auditive nerve and the facial nerve; Technology. Biomaterials. Equipments; Ti:Sapphire; Time Factors
• ISSN: 0196-8092; 1096-9101
• DOI: 10.1002/lsm.10034

Background and Objective The purpose of this study was to evaluate the ablation of ossicular tissue using a 1,053 nm Ti:Sapphire chirped pulse amplifier laser system configured to deliver ultrashort pulses of 350 femtoseconds (fs) (3.5 × 10−13 seconds) in cadaver temporal bone. Study Design/Materials and Methods Ablation of the formalin‐fixed incus and stapes was performed using an ultrashort pulse laser (USPL) (0.4 mm beam diameter, pulse fluence of 2.0 J/cm2, and pulse repetition rate of 10 Hz). The ablation rate was measured using optical micrometry, and crater surface morphology examined using scanning electron microscopy. Results The laser produced precise bone ablation at a rate of 1.26 μm/pulse, with almost no evidence of thermal damage, and very little evidence of photomechanical injury. Conclusions Ultrashort pulse lasers may provide a useful clinical tool for otologic and skull base surgery, where precise hard tissue ablation is required adjacent to critical structures. Lasers Surg. Med. 30:216‐220, 2002. © 2002 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.