Incisional effects of 1940 nm thulium fiber laser on oral soft tissues

Abstract

Lasers of different wavelengths are being used in oral surgery for incision and excision purposes with minimal bleeding and pain. Among these wavelengths, those close to 2 mu m yield more desirable results on oral soft tissue due to their strong absorption by water. The emission of 1940 nm Thulium fiber laser is well absorbed by water which makes it a promising tool for oral soft tissue surgery. This study was conducted to investigate the potential of thulium fiber laser as an incisional and excisional oral surgical tool. Ovine tongue has been used as the target tissue due to its similarities to human oral tissues. Laser light obtained from a 1940 nm Thulium fiber laser was applied in contact mode onto ovine tongue completely submerged in saline solution in vitro, via a 600 mu m fiber moved with a velocity of 0.5 mm/s to form incisions. There were a total of 9 groups determined by the power (2,5-3- 3,5 W), and number of passes (1-3-5). The samples were stained with H&E for microscopic evaluation of depth of ablation and extent of coagulation. The depth of incisions produced with 1940 nm Thulium fiber laser increased with increasing power and number of passes, however an increase in the width of the coagulation zone was also observed.