Background and objective: The relationship between tissue ablation volume and the formation of insoluble gas of the currently available excimer laser systems is unknown. This aspect was evaluated in two excimer laser systems.
Study design/materials and methods: We measured tissue ablation volume and gas production of two excimer laser systems (308 nm) on porcine aortic tissue immersed in saline (the CVX-300 using 1.4 and 1.7 mm laser catheters and the Dymer 200 + using 1.3, 1.3z and 1.6 mm laser catheters).
Results: Tissue ablation volume and gas production increased proportionally with the applied energy fluence, ranging from 30-60 mJ/mm2. The gas production per unit of ablated tissue volume of the 1.4 mm laser catheter was significantly higher than the 1.3 mm laser catheter (mean difference +117%, 95% CI from +64% till +188%, P<0.001). The gas production of the 1.7 mm laser catheter was higher than the 1.6 mm laser catheter (mean difference +70%, 95% CI from +28% till +126%, P<0.001). The 1.3z mm laser catheter demonstrated more gas production than the 1.3 mm laser catheter (mean difference +123%, 95% CI from +68% till +196%, P<0.001).
Conclusion: The results of our study indicate that excimer laser with the use of the CVX-300 laser system results in significantly higher gas production than the Dymer 200+ laser system, which can be markedly reduced by lowering the applied energy fluence. The 1.3z laser catheter constitutes an exception, showing similar characteristics as the CVX-300 laser catheters.