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A Lameta 22710 excimer laser operating at 70 mJ/mm2 per pulse, with pulse duration of 70 nsec, and pulse repetition rate of 10 Hz, equipped with a quartz filament as energy conductor was used to make incisions on rat liver. 2 to 5 sec after irradiation the specimens were fixed and further processed for electron microscopy and histochemical visualization of the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) marker enzyme glucose-6- phosphatase at the ultrastructural level. The additional series were: fixation before irradiation-(A); lasing with Nd:YAG laser (1064 nm, continuous wave mode, 40 J/mm2)-(B); incision with a white-hot steel needle-(C); and incision with an Esto-Rex ultrasound scalpel (66 kHz, 6 Wt, vibration amplitude of 15 micrometers )-(D). The results showed that unlike Series C and B, in which high temperature caused severe damage to all cellular organellae, the excimer action was much more specific. It caused vesiculation of ER without significant injuries to other cellular structures. The analogous effect was noted after US scalpel cutting, thereby allowing a conclusion that a kind of dynamic rather than thermal factor is responsible for the observed phenomenon of vesiculation. The time schedule of vesicle formation and molecular background of membrane transformation is considered in the light of the data of Series A and D, and also on the basis of available information of membrane behavior. Photoablative effect of pulsed excimer laser is thought to be based on chemical decomposition of organic molecules and their ejection from the tissue to the action of high energy photons. Pressure waves (either acoustic or shock) are presumably generated powerful enough to cause tissue and cell damage beyond the site of ablation. Some thermal and fluorescence events are also implicative in biological targets irradiated with excimer lasers. In our previous studies electron histochemistry was employed for the analysis of cellular alterations caused with a continuous wave mode-operating infrared (Nd:YAG) and a 308 nm ultraviolet (XeCl) laser in rate liver hepatocytes. A conclusion has been made on the predominantly nonthermal injuries produced by the excimer as opposed to clearly thermal damage by the Nd:YAG. Besides, it was suggested that a kind of dynamic effect should prevail in the excimer action. In the present study we continue our line of investigation by extending a spectrum of experiments designed for better understanding the biological action of the excimer laser.
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