Simultaneous sealing and bisection of porcine renal blood vessels, ex vivo, using a continuous-wave, infrared diode laser at 1470 nm.

Electrosurgical and ultrasonic devices are used in surgical procedures for hemostatic sealing and bisection of vascular tissues. Previous benchtop studies alternatively demonstrated successful infrared laser sealing and cutting of blood vessels, in a sequential, two-step approach. This study describes a smaller, laparoscopic device compatible design, and simultaneous approach to sealing and bisection of vessels, with potential optical feedback.

Comparison of quartz and sapphire optical chambers for infrared laser sealing of vascular tissues using a reciprocating, side-firing optical fiber: Simulations and experiments.

Introduction: Infrared (IR) lasers are being tested as an alternative to radiofrequency (RF) and ultrasonic (US) surgical devices for hemostatic sealing of vascular tissues. In previous studies, a side-firing optical fiber with elliptical IR beam output was reciprocated, producing a linear IR laser beam pattern for uniform sealing of blood vessels. Technical challenges include limited field-of-view of vessel position within the metallic device jaws, and matching fiber scan length to variable vessel sizes.