Is the holmium laser the proper laser for ablation of bone and cartilage in ENT?

Hans-Jochen Foth; Thomas G. Barton; Marc Bressem; Dirk H. Meyer; Karl Hoermann M.D.

doi:10.1117/12.209101

12 May 1995 Is the holmium laser the proper laser for ablation of bone and cartilage in ENT?

Hans-Jochen Foth, Thomas G. Barton, Marc Bressem, Dirk H. Meyer, Karl Hoermann M.D.

Proceedings Volume 2395, Lasers in Surgery: Advanced Characterization, Therapeutics, and Systems V; (1995) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.209101
Event: Photonics West '95, 1995, San Jose, CA, United States

Abstract

The combination of the short penetration length in water and the delivery through flexible quartz fibers made the radiation of the Holmium laser very promising for minimal invasive surgery. Furthermore the available power density of 10⁶ W/cm² overcomes the threshold for ablation, which opens the way for cutting and removal of bone and cartilage, which is important for surgery especially in ENT. In contradiction, recently warning had been brought up that particularly in cartilage the damage zone can exceed the ablation zone by orders of magnitude and one should be restrictive using the Holmium laser for joint surgery. We found that the effect of Holmium laser radiation on tissue cannot be described by a pure absorption and ablation process. Experimental data showed that in the case of bone scattering has to be considered, and in the case of cartilage a remarkable heating of the remaining tissue occurred. This amount of heating could be reduced significantly by a new designed fiber mount, which cooled the tissue.

Citation Download Citation

Hans-Jochen Foth, Thomas G. Barton, Marc Bressem, Dirk H. Meyer, and Karl Hoermann M.D. "Is the holmium laser the proper laser for ablation of bone and cartilage in ENT?", Proc. SPIE 2395, Lasers in Surgery: Advanced Characterization, Therapeutics, and Systems V, (12 May 1995); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.209101

ACCESS THE FULL ARTICLE

INSTITUTIONAL
Select your institution to access the SPIE Digital Library.

SELECT YOUR INSTITUTION

PERSONAL
Sign in with your SPIE account to access your personal subscriptions or to use specific features such as save to my library, sign up for alerts, save searches, etc.

PERSONAL SIGN IN

No SPIE Account? Create one

PURCHASE THIS CONTENT

SUBSCRIBE TO DIGITAL LIBRARY

50 downloads per 1-year subscription

Members: $195

Non-members: $335 ADD TO CART

25 downloads per 1 - year subscription

Members: $145

Non-members: $250 ADD TO CART

PURCHASE SINGLE ARTICLE

Includes PDF, HTML & Video, when available