title: Effects of pulse excimer laser irradiation on the human left ventricular wall.
abstract: This study was to assess the potential application of excimer lasers in the ablation of myocardium in vitro for the treatment of constant ventricular tachycardia or hypertrophic cardiomyopathy. A fresh human heart and EMG model 103 XeCl pulse excimer laser machine were used. The pulse repetition rate varied from 1 to 7 Hz. Irradiation directly on the left endocardial and epicardial walls lasted for 10 seconds and was repeated 3 times, creating 3 craters. The histological changes were examined by light microscope. Results showed very close relations between the depth or volume of vaporized craters and the pulse repetition rate on the endocardial (r = 0.9674, P less than 0.001 and r = 0.8962, P less than 0.01, respectively) and epicardial walls (r = 0.9602, P less than 0.001 and r = 0.9612, P less than 0.001, respectively). A sharp, clear border without debris or coagulating necrosis was seen under the microscope. We concluded that the pulse excimer laser, differing from Ar+ or Nd:YAG lasers, might be a powerful tool for manipulating the human ventricular wall, but more work needs to be done before it can be widely applied in the treatment of cardiovascular disease.
authors.forename: M Z
authors.initials: MZ
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.forename: F R
authors.initials: FR
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.forename: J M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Mao
authors.forename: J X
authors.initials: JX
authors.lastname: Guo
authors.forename: D Y
authors.initials: DY
authors.lastname: Xie
authors.forename: J R
authors.initials: JR
authors.lastname: Xu
mesh_terms: D002712:Chlorides; D004699:Endocardium / Q000528:radiation effects; D006352:Heart Ventricles / Q000528:radiation effects*; D006801:Humans; D066298:In Vitro Techniques; D007834:Lasers; D014978:Xenon
chemical_list: D002712:Chlorides; D014978:Xenon; C048006:xenon chloride