Photothermal ablation of liver tissue with 1940-nm thulium fiber laser: an ex vivo study on lamb liver

The purpose of this study was to investigate the ablation efficiency of 1940-nm thulium fiber laser on liver tissue, while utilizing a real-time measurement system to monitor the temperature rise in adjacent tissues. Thulium fiber laser was delivered to lamb liver tissue samples via 400-mu m bare tip fiber in contact mode. Eight different laser parameter combinations [power, continuous-wave (cw)/pulsed-modulated (pm) mode, and exposure time] were used. Exposure times were chosen to give the same total applied energy of 4 J for comparative purposes. Following laser irradiations, tissues were processed and stained with hematoxylin and eosin for macroscopic evaluation of ablation areas and total altered areas, and ablation efficiencies were calculated. Temperature of the nearby tissue at a distance of 1 mm from the fiber was measured, and rate of temperature change was calculated. A strong correlation between the rate of temperature change and ablation area was noted. Thermal effects increased with increasing power for both modes. The continuous-wave mode yielded higher ablation efficiencies than the pulse-modulated mode. Histological evaluation revealed a narrow vacuolization zone and negligible carbonization for higher-power values. (C) 2016 Society of Photo-Optical Instrumentation Engineers (SPIE)