Partial distal pancreatectomy with a hand-held CO2 laser. An experimental study.

Partial distal pancreatectomy was performed in dogs with CO2 laser. Results were compared with those obtained with use of diathermy and scalpel. Postoperative hyperamylasemia appeared in all the animals. The highest peaks in the laser and scalpel groups were found on the fifth postoperative day, after which they gradually returned to normal; the highest levels appeared in the diathermy group on the 21st day, and returned to normal only after 56 days. Pancreatography showed a sealed duct in the laser and diathermy groups although no duct ligation was performed. Histological study of the laser group disclosed initial thermal injury at the cut section with no damage to the nearby parenchyma, followed later by a smooth, thin scar. In the diathermy and scalpel groups, the injured zone became enlarged later by active parenchymal and interlobular inflammation in the underlying tissue.