Carbon dioxide laser and electrosurgical wound study with an animal model: a comparison of tissue damage and healing patterns in peritoneal tissue.

This study was designed to compare the effect of wound healing after the use of the carbon dioxide laser and the electrosurgical unit on the peritoneal mesothelium of the New Zealand white rabbit. The biophysical parameters were held constant and identical in both groups. The effects were compared in terms of tissue damage, adhesion formation, and healing time. The animals were killed on days 0, 5, 10, 15, 20, and 25. Gross anatomic and histologic findings were recorded. The laser, when compared to the electrosurgical unit in this study, produced no adhesion formation and less tissue injury, immediately and throughout the healing phase (p less than 0.0039).