Erbium-YAG and holmium-YAG laser ablation of bone

Results are presented for the latent heat of ablation of bone using an erbium-YAG laser operating at 2.9Μm, and a holmium-YAG laser operating at 2.1Μm. The values are 8.2±1.0 kJ cm−3 and 18±2.0 kJ cm−3, respectively. Secondary damage to surrounding tissue is found to extend approximately 5Μm with the erbium laser and is greatly increased to 80Μm with significant charring in the case of holmium. These secondary damage zones are much smaller than those produced by the CO2 laser.

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