The relationship between timing of repair of disruptions and subsequent aneurysm formation in laser-assisted microvascular anastomoses.

In this study we investigated the effects of duration of bleeding after laser-assisted microvascular anastomoses and the amount of laser energy used to control bleeding on aneurysm formation. Eighty femoral arteries were exposed in 40 Sprague-Dawley rats anesthetized with chloral hydrate. The arteries were transected and then anastomosed end-to-end with three nylon stay sutures followed by irradiation of the vessels with energy from a CO 2 laser. The laser power was kept at 90 mW, and each of three segments between stay sutures was exposed for 6 seconds to continuous laser energy. If anastomotic disruption (defined as bleeding after completion of the anastomosis) occurred, it was controlled with pressure over the disrupted site for 10, 25, or 40 seconds