PATCH WELDING WITH A PULSED DIODE-LASER AND INDOCYANINE GREEN

Laser tissue welding is a sutureless method of wound closure that has been used successfully in nerve, skin and arterial anastomoses. An ela stin-based biomaterial patch was welded to the intimal surface of porc ine aorta in the present study. The aorta was stained with indocyanine green dye to efficiently absorb the 808 nm diode laser light. Laser w elding with a pulsed diode laser thermally confines heating to the sta ined portion of tissue, minimizing adjacent tissue damage. Laser welds of stained aorta to biomaterial were attempted by sandwiching the sam ples between glass slides and applying pressures ranging from 4 to 20 N cm(-2) for 5 ms pulse durations and 83 mJ mm(-2) radiant exposure. B leaching of the indocyanine green by as much as 85% was observed after exposure laser irradiation. Finally, successful welds required 5 N cm (-2) of pressure between the elastin biomaterial and aorta.