Cold ablation robot-guided laser osteotomy in hand, wrist and forearm surgery-A feasibility study

Introduction Traditional bone surgery using saws and chisels is associated with direct contact of instruments with the bone causing friction, heat and pressure and hence, damaging the bone and the surrounding soft tissues. Method Cold ablation laser osteotomy offers new possibilities to perform corrective osteotomies in the field of bone surgery. We introduce the technology of navigated cold ablation robot-guided laser osteotomy, present potential applications, and preliminary pre-clinical cadaver test results in the field of hand-, wrist- and forearm surgery. Results The cadaver tests showed first promising results for corrections in all planes and axes using different cutting patterns. Conclusion Cold ablation laser osteotomy seems to be a feasible new method to perform osteotomies in the field of hand-, wrist- and forearm surgery. Primary osseous stability could be achieved using various cutting patterns which could lead to reduction of the amount of hardware required for osteosynthesis. Further tests are required to proof the latter and precision.