CO2 laser-assisted microvascular anastomosis: biomechanical studies and clinical applications

Experiments have been performed using CO2 laser-assisted microvascular anastomoses, and they demonstrated the following features, in comparison with conventional anastomoses: ease in technique; less time consumption; less tissue inflammation; early wound healing; equivalency of patency rate and inner pressure tolerance; but only about 50 percent of the tensile strength of manual-suture anastomosis. Six clinical applications in 16 vessels are reported, using this procedure. The preliminary results of these cases would appear to be the first successful replantations and free tissue transfers using CO2 laser-assisted microvascular anastomoses in man. The procedure offers increased safety and speed in microvascular anastomoses.