USE OF LASER ENERGY TO TREAT CENTRAL PULMONARY EMBOLI - A PRELIMINARY-REPORT

We evaluated the ability and safety of a laser fiber placed percutaneo usly into a pig's lobar pulmonary artery to lyse pulmonary artery bloo d clots that were created in situ. We developed a model to create bloo d clots in situ that could be placed in any desired location with a ra dio-opaque marker at the clot position. An excimer laser delivered ene rgy to a flexible 600 mum fiber in three experiments and a coaxial 1.6 mm multifiber catheter in the last experiment. Pre- and postprocedure angiograms obtained from each experiment demonstrated that partial la ser dissolution of central pulmonary emboli in four pigs was accomplis hed successfully. To avoid perforation, it is imperative that the lase r fiber remain coaxial during the entire lasing process. These results suggest that laser dissolution may become an adjunctive procedure for the treatment of central pulmonary emboli in those patients who canno t be treated medically. (C) 1993 Wiley-Liss, Inc.