Functional and Physical Outcomes following Use of a Flexible CO₂ Laser Fiber and Bipolar Electrocautery in Close Proximity to the Rat Sciatic Nerve with Correlation to an In Vitro Thermal Profile Model

Hematoxylin stained nerves (vertical arrows) exposed to different laser powers: 2, 5, and 10 Watts (W). The left column shows sections at low magnification; the right column shows the same samples at a higher magnification. At 2 W laser power setting, the neural sheath of the nerve was ablated without obvious additional damage to the nerve bundle ((a) and (b)). At 5 W and 10 W laser power settings, severe ablation of the nerve is evident ((c), (d), (e), and (f)). Also note the margin of deeper thermal damage evidenced by staining differences (double headed arrows).