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2005
Conference Paper
Titel
Microsurgical anastomosis of sperm duct by laser tissue soldering
Abstract
Connection of small vessels is usually done by suturing which is very cumbersome. Laser tissue soldering can circumvent that obstacle if a handy procedure can be defined. Our principle approach consists of a bioresorbable hollow stent with an expected degradation time of 3 weeks in combination with laser soldering. The stent is to be fed into the vessel to stabilize both ends and should allow percolation immediately after joining. The stents are made of Poly(D,L-lactid-co-glycolid) and solder is prepared from bovine serum albumin (BSA) doped with Indocyanine green (ICG) as chromophore to increase the absorption of laser light. After insertion, solder is applied onto the outer surface of the vessel and coagulated by laser radiation. The wavelength of 810 nm of a diode laser fits favorably to absorption properties of tissue and solder such that heating up of tissue is limited to prevent from necrosis and wound healing complications. In our study the preparation of stents, the consistency and doping of solder, a beam delivery instrument and the irradiation conditions are worked out. In-vitro tests are carried out on sperm ducts of Sprague-Dowlae (SD) rats. Different irradiation conditions are investigated and a micro-optical system consisting of a lens and a reflecting prism to ensure simultaneous irradiation of front and back side of the vessels tested. Under these conditions, the short-term rupture strength of laser anastomosis revealed as high as those achieved by suturing.