Laser-assisted hair transplantation: histologic comparison between holmium:YAG and CO2 lasers

Eugene A. Chu; C. Rose Rabinov; Brian Jet-Fei Wong M.D.; Mark E. Krugman

doi:10.1117/12.350968

22 June 1999 Laser-assisted hair transplantation: histologic comparison between holmium:YAG and CO2 lasers

Eugene A. Chu, C. Rose Rabinov, Brian Jet-Fei Wong M.D., Mark E. Krugman

Proceedings Volume 3590, Lasers in Surgery: Advanced Characterization, Therapeutics, and Systems IX; (1999) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.350968
Event: BiOS '99 International Biomedical Optics Symposium, 1999, San Jose, CA, United States

Abstract

The histological effects of flash-scanned CO₂ (λ=10.6μm) and pulsed Holmium:YAG (Ho:YAG, λ=2.12μm) lasers were evaluated in human scalp following the creation of hair transplant recipient channels. Ho:YAG laser irradiation created larger zones of thermal injury adjacent to the laser channels than irradiation with the CO₂ laser device. When the two lasers created recipient sites of nearly equal depth, the Holmium:YAG laser caused a larger region of lateral thermal damage (589.30μm) than the CO₂ laser (118.07μm). In addition, Holmium:YAG irradiated specimens exhibited fractures or discontinuities beyond the region of clear thermal injury. This shearing effect is consistent with the photoacoustic mechanism of ablation associated with pulsed mid-IR laser irradiation. In contrast, channels created with the CO₂ exhibited minimal epithelial disruption and significantly less lateral thermal damage. While the Holmium:YAG laser is a useful tool for ablation soft tissue with minimal char in select applications (sinus surgery, arthroscopic surgery), this study suggests that the use of the CO₂ laser for the creation of transplantation recipient channels result in significantly less lateral thermal injury for the laser parameters employed.

Citation Download Citation

Eugene A. Chu, C. Rose Rabinov, Brian Jet-Fei Wong M.D., and Mark E. Krugman "Laser-assisted hair transplantation: histologic comparison between holmium:YAG and CO2 lasers", Proc. SPIE 3590, Lasers in Surgery: Advanced Characterization, Therapeutics, and Systems IX, (22 June 1999); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.350968

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