title: Study of photoablation of rabbit corneas by Er:YAG laser.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  This work studied the ablation mechanisms of rabbit corneas by the Erbium:YAG laser. The occurrence of thermal and mechanical damages in the tissue as a function of the laser fluence was also investigated.
  
  
  METHODS
  The experiments were performed both on enucleated eyes and in vivo. An ultrafast imaging technique was used to investigate the dynamic evolution of the ablation. The treated samples underwent histological and ultrastructural study.
  
  
  RESULTS
  A single high fluence laser shot led to the complete removal of the epithelium by a photomechanical effect. In eyes whose epithelium was manually removed, high fluence pulses resulted in evident tears in the stroma, whereas low fluence pulses led to few microns deep incisions, characterized by limited mechanical and thermal damages.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The photomechanical action plays a significant role in the ablation of the cornea by Erbium laser. Precise control of the fluence is required to avoid cracking phenomena in the stroma.
authors.affiliation: C.E.Q.S.E.-C.N.R., Politecnico di Milano, Italy.
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Cubeddu
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Brancato
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Sozzi
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Taroni
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Trabucchi
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Valentini
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Verdi
mesh_terms: D000538:Aluminum Silicates; D000818:Animals; D003315:Cornea / Q000033:anatomy & histology / Q000166:cytology / Q000601:surgery* / Q000648:ultrastructure; D003319:Corneal Stroma / Q000293:injuries / Q000601:surgery; D003593:Cytoplasm / Q000648:ultrastructure; D004847:Epithelial Cells; D004848:Epithelium / Q000601:surgery / Q000648:ultrastructure; D004871:Erbium; D006358:Hot Temperature; D007091:Image Processing, Computer-Assisted / Q000295:instrumentation; D053685:Laser Therapy / Q000295:instrumentation / Q000379:methods; D007834:Lasers; D011817:Rabbits; D014617:Vacuoles / Q000648:ultrastructure; D014741:Video Recording / Q000295:instrumentation; D015019:Yttrium
chemical_list: D000538:Aluminum Silicates; D015019:Yttrium; D004871:Erbium