Hemisplenectomy using a hand-held CO2 laser. An experimental study.

Hemisplenectomy was performed in mongrel dogs using a hand held CO2 laser. Cutting and hemostasis were performed by a laser beam with a high concentration power--about 6kW/mm2--at the focal spot, and residual bleeding was controlled by using a defocused beam. The cutting action was improved by temporary closing of the arterial vessels and by injecting adrenaline into the splenic artery to produce a relatively dry surface. The surgical procedure was free of mortality or morbidity. Histological studies revealed a brand of fibrous tissue at the cut surface, without apparent abnormalities in the splenic parenchyma beneath the section. Activity of the residual half spleen was shown by postoperative technetium scan and by the fact that Howell-Jolly bodies appeared in peripheral blood only after resection of the remaining half spleen.