Effect of Ho:YAG laser on kidney tissue with Virtual Basket^™ and Bubble Blast^™ pulse modulation: an experimental ex...

There is a lack of studies in the literature on effects of Virtual Basket^™ (VB) and Bubble Blast^™ (BB) laser pulse modulations of the Ho:YAG laser on tissue. We aimed to compare the effects of standard modulation (SM), VB, and BB pulse modulations of Ho:YAG laser on kidney tissue.

An ex vivo experiment was conducted using veal kidneys. The Quanta System Cyber Ho 100W laser generator with a broad setting spectrum at 15-80 W, 10-40 Hz, 1.5-2 J, and medium pulse duration were tested. Incision depth (ID), vaporization area (VA), coagulation area (CA), and total laser area (TLA = VA + CA) were evaluated. Histopathological measurement outcomes were grouped as a low-power group (15, 20, and 30 W) and a high-power group (40, 60, and 80 W) according to the power outputs used.

A total of 108 experiments were performed. In saline and high-power output (40, 60, 80 W), mean VA, TLA, and ID, histopathological measurements were higher in BB pulse modulation than VB and SM pulse modulations (p: 0.03, p: 0.001, and p: 0.003, respectively). In contrast, mean CA and LE measurements were higher in SM than in VB and BB pulse modulations (p < 0.001 and p < 0.001, respectively). There was no statistically significant difference in mean histopathological measurements of VA, CA, TLA, and ID, among SM, VB, and BB pulse modulations in the low-power output group in saline (p > 0.05).

VB can allow controlled dissection, as it does not create a large VA during surgical procedures. BB should be used in a controlled manner in soft tissue surgery due to its strong effect on tissues.