Effects of Low Energy Laser on Wound Healing In a Porcine Model

Low energy helium neon laser has been suggested as an effective adjuvant in the healing of open wounds. To date, supportive studies have been performed in loose‐skinned animals. For such data to be clinically meaningful, it was felt necessary to study this effect in an animal with a dermal structure more closely resembling that of man, the pig. After creating 62 partial thickness wounds on the dorsum of domestic swine, one‐half of these were randomized to receive laser treatment. The remainder served as controls. Laser treated wounds received a daily treatment of 15 sec/cm² at an irradiance of 64 mW/cm² (energy fluence = .96 J/cm²/day). With these treatment parameters, we could not demonstrate any clinically significant laser induced acceleration of open wound healing.