[Comparison of wound healing of linear incisions in the rabbit cornea produced by the newly developed excimer laser, a metal blade, and a diamond blade].
We developed a new delivery system for corneal ablation with the 193 nm argon-fluoride excimer laser. The laser was used to make linear incisions in the rabbit cornea, and wound healing of the incisions was compared with the healing of incisions made with metal and diamond blades. The morphology of incisions made with excimer laser radiation (193 nm) was compared with the morphology of incisions produced by diamond and metal blades, and the corneal wound was examined by light and electron microscopy. The surface of the cornea at the site of the laser wound was smooth; the laser wound was wider than the blade wounds immediately after surgery. Two weeks after surgery, all wounds had healed equally. One month after surgery, there were fewer fibroblastic keratocytes in the laser wound, and the epithelial layer at the wound site was thinner than in the case of the blade wounds. These results suggest that wound healing of laser incisions is more rapid than healing of wounds created with metal or diamond blades.
Manabe
Y
Y
Department of Ophthalmology, Saitama Medical School, Japan.
Kandori
H
H
Yamaguchi
T
T
Noyori
K
K
D000818:Animals; D003315:Cornea / Q000601:surgery*; D065306:Corneal Injuries; D053685:Laser Therapy; D011817:Rabbits; D013525:Surgical Instruments; D014945:Wound Healing