[Functional evaluation of an experimental model of cutaneous microcirculation and pO2 after surgical excision:...

Within an experimental study project about the interaction between Laser and biological tissues, the authors utilized a Laser Doppler Flowmeter device and a Polarographic method to study the cutaneous microcirculation and the tissue pO2. Under standardized conditions, the experimental model considered the microcirculation measurement and the ptiO2 before and after the exsection of a cutaneous lozenge on the animals back realized with traditional surgical methods (scalpel and electrotome) or with a last generation CO2 Laser in continuous and in pulsed mode. The Laser Doppler Flowmeter showed that the largest perturbation of the microcirculatory flux occurred after the exsection realized with the scalpel and the electrotome. The CO2 Laser utilized in continuous mode showed an influence slightly lower on the microcirculation while in pulsed mode the perturbation was absent. The ptiO2 measurement showed similar results emphasizing that the CO2 surgical Laser technique is less invasive than the traditional. To sum up, these functional methods allowed a careful microcirculation an ptiO2 evaluation and provided useful information about vasal and metabolic alterations, showing that the CO2 surgical Laser utilized in pulsed mode appears to be the less harmful surgical technique for the tissues surrounding the exsection site.