Solid state ultraviolet laser (213 nm) ablation of the cornea and synthetic collagen lenticules
✍ Scribed by Ray P. Gailitis; Qiushi Ren; Keith P. Thompson; J. T. Lin; George O. Waring III
- Publisher
- John Wiley and Sons
- Year
- 1991
- Tongue
- English
- Weight
- 819 KB
- Volume
- 11
- Category
- Article
- ISSN
- 0196-8092
No coin nor oath required. For personal study only.
✦ Synopsis
We used a Q-switched NdYAG laser with non-linear optical crystals to produce the 5th (213 nm) and the 4th (266 nm) harmonic frequencies. Using these two wavelengths, we ablated fresh porcine corneas and type I collagen synthetic epikeratoplasty lenticules. For the 213-nm ablation, radiant exposure was 1.3 J/cm2. The ablation rate was 0.23 pm per pulse for the epikeratoplasty lenticules. We examined all tissues with light micrqscopy, transmission electron microscopy, and scanning electron microscopy. Histology for the 213-nm ablation showed a clean ablation crater with minimal collagen lamellae disruption and a damage zone less than 1 pm. In comparison, the 266 nm radiation showed more charring at the edges with a damage zone approximately 25 pm deep with disruption of the stromal lamella.
Our results show that this solid state UV laser is a potential alternative to the excimer laser for cornea surgery.