A comparison of thermal injury, healing patterns, and postoperative adhesion formation following CO2 laser and electromicrosurgery.

To further define the role of CO2 laser in infertility surgery, the authors compared the immediate tissue damage and the subsequent healing patterns that followed the randomized use of CO2 laser and electrocautery on opposite sides of the reproductive tracts of 20 mature, female rabbits. Blind histopathologic evaluations were performed on the ovarian and uterine tissues immediately to compare the extent of the acute thermal damage, and 4 weeks postoperatively to compare the healing patterns. There were no differences in the depth of thermal damage, extent of collagen deposition, or in postoperative adhesion formation between CO2 laser and electrocautery. However, the mean depth of the acute thermal damage was significantly less on the ovary than on the uterus, and the area of fibrosis was significantly less when the incised uterine surfaces were approximated.