title: Er:YAG laser ablation of prairie dog gallbladder epithelium for the prevention of gallstones.
abstract: We hypothesized that laser ablation of gallbladder epithelium would prevent gallstone formation in prairie dogs. An Er:YAG laser (lambda = 2.94 microns) was used to ablate the gallbladder epithelium of 24 prairie dogs; 20 sham-irradiated and 12 non-operated prairie dogs served as controls. Prairie dogs were sacrificed at time periods of 4 days, 2 weeks, and 8-12 weeks and evaluated for the presence of gallstones and cholesterol crystals. Laser-irradiated gallbladders demonstrated a lower rate of gallstone formation at 8-12 weeks than the sham-irradiated gallbladders (39% vs. 79%: P < .02). Crystal formation, however, was not different between laser-irradiated (88%) and sham-irradiated (100%) animals. The laser-irradiated group had less epithelium than the non-operated group at all time periods (P < or = .002) and compared to the sham-irradiated group at 4 days and 8-12 weeks (P < or = .001). These data suggest that laser ablation of gallbladder epithelium can reduce the rate of gallstone formation although this effect may be temporary.
authors.affiliation: Biomedical Engineering Department, Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois 60208.
authors.forename: S R
authors.initials: SR
authors.lastname: Visuri
authors.forename: J B
authors.initials: JB
authors.lastname: Prystowsky
authors.forename: J T
authors.initials: JT
authors.lastname: Walsh
mesh_terms: D000538:Aluminum Silicates; D000818:Animals; D001646:Bile / Q000737:chemistry; D002769:Cholelithiasis / Q000737:chemistry / Q000209:etiology / Q000517:prevention & control*; D002784:Cholesterol / Q000032:analysis; D003460:Crystallization; D004195:Disease Models, Animal; D004848:Epithelium / Q000473:pathology / Q000601:surgery; D004871:Erbium; D005704:Gallbladder / Q000473:pathology / Q000601:surgery*; D053685:Laser Therapy; D012589:Sciuridae; D015019:Yttrium
chemical_list: D000538:Aluminum Silicates; D015019:Yttrium; D004871:Erbium; D002784:Cholesterol