An ultrastructural study of corneal incisions induced by an excimer laser at 193 nm

Far ultraviolet light (193 nm) produced by an excimer laser has been used to produce a variety of incisions in the corneas of anaesthetised rabbits. Tissue was lost from the site of irradiation but the nature of the underlying molecular interactions responsible for such tissue erosion remain obscure. Ultrastructural analysis of the walls of the ablated areas show damage to the adjacent structures to be confined to a zone 60 to 200 nm in width. These dimensions could either be attributed to photochemical processes in which high energy photons directly break organic molecular bond, or to thermal reactions which result in limited heat flow and damage confined to the absorption depth at 193 nm of less than 1 micron. In non-penetrating incisions that reached within 40 micron of Descemet's membrane, endothelial cells were lost beneath the line of the irradiation. This spalling of cells seemed to be generated by shock or acoustic waves.