Corneal morphology after ex vivo UV and mid-infrared laser ablation

In this work, ablation experiments of ex vivo porcine cornea tissue were conducted with two solid state lasers ( an Er:YAG laser and the 4(th) harmonic of an Nd:YAG laser, both in the ns pulse width range) emitting in mid infrared and ultraviolet part of the spectrum respectively, at moderate laser fluences. The cornea epithelium of each porcine eye was manually removed before the ablation. Histology analysis of the specimens was performed, in order to examine the microscopic appearance of the ablated craters and the existence of any thermal or mechanical damage caused by the mid-infrared and the UV laser irradiation. For a detailed and complete examination of the morphology of the laser ablated corneal tissue, the surface roughness was investigated by scanning electron microscopy