Tissue repair using lasers: a review.

Numerous attempts have been made to use heating of tissue to effect an anastomotic union of severed tissue edges. Improvements in electrocautery and lasers have made experimental tissue anastomosis feasible; but clinical application of tissue welding has involved only limited clinical trials. Using heat to anastomose tissue is fraught with complications. The factors that lead to successful tissue welding and the technique's limitations are reviewed.