Tissue tearing caused by pulsed laser-induced ablation pressure.

Pressure induced by ablative pulses of laser radiation is shown to correlate with the mechanical disruption of tissue. The ablation pressure induced during Er:YSGG laser irradiation of skin, liver, and aorta was calculated from a ballistic pendulum-based measurement of recoil momentum. The ejected material and ablation crater were examined grossly and microscopically after ablation. A gas-dynamic model of laser-induced vaporization was used to understand the measured pressures. The results show that mechanical disruption of tissue occurs when the ablation pressure exceeds the strength of the irradiated tissue at sites of intrinsic weakness.