Laser arthroscopy potentially hazardous, study finds

17 Jun 2002

A surgical laser commonly used to repair knee joints may be a double-edge sword, repairing the knee in the short term but causing hidden damage to surrounding cells and worsening the injury in the long term, an animal study involving Johns Hopkins suggests. Scientists tested the pulsed holmium:YAG arthroscopic laser on joint cartilage taken from cows and measured the effects for four months. The results show that the laser's energy killed or damaged surrounding normal cartilage cells in a wider area than previously suspected. None of the injured cells recovered.

"Our findings suggest that even when there's no visual evidence of damage, significant cell death in the articular cartilage may occur," says Leigh Ann Curl, M.D., lead author and an assistant professor of orthopedic surgery. The results will be presented this week at the annual meeting of the American Orthopedic Society for Sports Medicine.