Evaluation of the safety and efficacy of long pulsed Nd: YAG laser in the treatment of vascular lesions in vivo

ABSTRACT

Long-pulsed neodymium:yttrium-aluminum-garnet (Nd:YAG) lasers have recently been used for the treatment of vascular lesions refractory to conventional vascular lasers. The aim of this study was to evaluate the clinical efficacy and safety of long-pulsed Nd:YAG laser treatment for vascular disorders. Laser irradiation was performed using two approaches: the 532 nm Nd:YAG laser was used to irradiate the dorsal skin fold in mice and the 1064 nm Nd:YAG laser was used to irradiate the leg of mice without skin incision. The specimens were observed immediately after laser treatment using a laser Doppler perfusion imaging system. Red blood cell (RBC) extravasation and hemorrhage were observed using the hematoxylin and eosin stain. The diameter of blood vessel under 30 μm was disrupted with a laser pulse at a fluence of 12 J/cm² and a wavelength of 532 nm regardless of pulse duration. The veins and arteries of approximately 1 mm in size were ablated with laser pulses at a fluence of 140 J/cm² and above and a wavelength of 1064 nm. Selective photopyrolysis can be achieved with either 532- or 1064 nm Nd:YAG laser pulses in vascular diseases based on the depth and size of the vessel.

KEYWORDS:

• Long pulsed Nd: YAG laser
• vascular disease

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Data availability

The authors confirm that the data supporting the findings of this study are available within the article or its supplementary materials.

Additional information

Funding

This research was supported by a grant of the Korea Health Technology R&D Project through the Korea Health Industry Development Institute (KHIDI), funded by the Ministry of Health & Welfare, Republic of Korea (grant number: HI20C2088), Basic Science Research Program through the National Research Foundation of Korea (NRF) funded by the Ministry of Education NRF-2020R1A6A1A03043283,NRF-2020R1I1A1A01052306 (NRF-2020R1A6A1A03043283) and Leading Foreign Research Institute Recruitment Program through the National Research Foundation of Korea (NRF) funded by the Ministry of Science and ICT (MSIT) (NRF-2018K1A4A3A02060572).