title: Live virus survives excimer laser ablation.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To determine whether live virus can withstand excimer laser ablation and pose a possible health hazard to medical personnel.
  
  
  METHODS
  Experimental study.
  
  
  METHODS
  Fibroblasts infected with oral polio vaccine virus were ablated with an excimer laser. The plume was collected using a smoke evacuator and bubbled through viral culture media.
  
  
  METHODS
  The inlet tube from the smoke evacuator was swabbed and cultured for virus. Liquid from the bubble trap was also cultured.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Live virus was shown in the material trapped from the laser plume.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Oral polio vaccine virus can survive excimer laser ablation. Whether other more clinically relevant viruses, such as human immunodeficiency virus, can withstand ablation and remain infectious remains to be determined.
authors.affiliation: Department of Ophthalmology, University of Colorado Health Sciences Center, Denver, USA. Michael.Taravella@uchsc.edu
authors.forename: M J
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Taravella
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Weinberg
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: May
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Stepp
mesh_terms: D002478:Cells, Cultured; D004622:Embryo, Mammalian; D005347:Fibroblasts / Q000821:virology; D006801:Humans; D054018:Lasers, Excimer; D008168:Lung / Q000166:cytology / Q000601:surgery* / Q000821:virology*; D018903:Photorefractive Keratectomy; D017955:Poliovirus / Q000302:isolation & purification / Q000502:physiology*; D014776:Virus Cultivation