Healing of bone in the rat following surgery with the erbium-YAG laser

摘要

Abstract: Background and objectives: the aim of this study was to examine the pattern of healing in rat calvarial defects prepared with the erbium-YAG laser, using the 'guided tissue regeneration' technique. Materials and method: PTFE membranes were placed over lased skull defects, and the skin wounds sutured. Rats were killed humanely at intervals after surgery, and the skulls processed for paraffin wax histology. A further group of mature rats were also killed humanely and the calvariae removed. Slots were prepared using the erbium-YAG laser and immediately examined under the environmental scanning electron microscope (ESEM) in hydrated conditions, which avoided drying artifacts. Results: An amorphous, mineral-rich carbon layer surrounds the lased bone defect, which in the in vivo experiments was seen as a basophilic zone which was resistant to resorption. !8