Preliminary Investigations of Laser Mediated Cartilage Reshaping in the In Vivo Rabbit Model

摘要

Laser cartilage reshaping has become of clinic interest due to its potential applications for facial plastic surgery. Although the temperature dependent phase transformation of laser mediated cartilage reshaping has been well described, few studies have examined the reshaping process in an in vivo model and correlated shape change with laser dosimetry in a rigorous fashion. We report preliminary findings of Nd:YAG laser mediated cartilage reshaping of the New Zealand White rabbit nasal septum. Four New Zealand white rabbits (3.5 - 4.0 kg) underwent submucous resection of the nasal septum via a novel surgical approach under anesthesia. The septal cartilage was removed and cut into two equal sized slabs (5 x 15 mm); one used as a control, while other was reshaped using an Nd:YAG laser (λ=1.32μm, 25W/cm~2). Both the control and irradiated cartilages were reimplanted into a subcutaneous pocket in the rabbit's back. All four rabbits survived the submucous resection procedure, with no post-operative complications at 3 months post op. Cartilage reshaping was seen to take place at the thermal range 60-70℃. Further study on the long term viability of laser reshaped cartilage will be performed by serial biopsies of the control and irradiated cartilage grafts at 6 and 12 month intervals for histological and viability assays. The preliminary results are promising thus far, and suggest the feasibility of utilizing the rabbit model in studying laser mediated cartilage reshaping.