"Sutures or stitches are not water tight, and blood or urine can pass through cuts, causing severe infection. Also, in many cases, a surgeon needs great skill to perform internal stitching, or in bonding tiny blood vessels, or in mending cuts on the skin so there will be no trace left on the body," he says.

Prof. Katzir says that his team have carried out successful clinical trials on people undergoing gall bladder removal surgery, which suggest that laser-bonded tissues heal faster and have less scarring than sutured cuts.

He says that preliminary findings of the team's work suggest that the novel approach may be used to bond cuts on the cornea, bladder, intestines, blood vessels or trachea.

He also envisions its use for bonding tissues inside the body on organs such as the kidney, and even in brain surgery.

The team say that they will soon be treating longer cuts, such as in the case of hernia operations, with the permission of the Ministry of Health.

They say that their work may lead to a commercial product within a few years if it turns out to be successful in larger tests.

"We think plastic surgeons will especially love this invention. Bonding tissues that heal well without scarring is a true art that few people possess," says Prof. Katzir.

"It could also become a device for the battlefield, allowing soldiers to heal each other on contact with a laser wand," he adds.

Source-ANI
SPH