title: Laser-induced alteration of collagen substructure allows microsurgical tissue welding.
abstract: Tissue welding is a potentially important biomedical application of laser technology. The structural alterations basic to this phenomenon were studied in experimental repair of lesions of the rat carotid artery and sciatic nerve. A modified neodymiumdoped yttrium-aluminum-garnet laser operating at a wavelength of 1.319 micrometers was used in conjunction with conventional suture techniques. Histological and fine-structural analysis revealed a homogenizing change in collagen with interdigitation of altered individual fibrils that appeared to be the structural basis of the welding effect.
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002339:Carotid Arteries / Q000528:radiation effects*; D003094:Collagen; D004307:Dose-Response Relationship, Radiation; D005109:Extracellular Matrix / Q000528:radiation effects; D007834:Lasers; D051381:Rats; D012584:Sciatic Nerve / Q000528:radiation effects*
chemical_list: D003094:Collagen