In an attempt to overcome some of the problems associated with conventional wound closure, i.e. suture or mechanical device closure, the laser has been used for "tissue welding" ,(sealing and fusion), of wound edges. Early attempts at laser tissue fusion were centered on microvascular anastomosis and recent studies have extended to include most soft tissues. It has been demonstrated in animal studies, that the process of healing after laser wound closure is very similar in most tissues. Within the past year alone, the experimental work in this area has progressed rapidly; limited clinical trials are now under way. Based on detailed animal studies and limited clinical experience, laser tissue fusion may soon replace many conventional techniques of wound repair.

Date Published: 10 March 1987
PDF: 5 pages
Proc. SPIE 0712, Lasers in Medicine, (10 March 1987); doi: 10.1117/12.937355

Published in SPIE Proceedings Vol. 0712:
Lasers in Medicine
Stephen N. Joffe M.D.; John A. Parrish M.D., Editor(s)