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激光技术弥合伤口，天衣无缝不留痕

All surgical¹ patients want their wounds to heal quickly with the least possible scarring. But traditional stitches, clips and more modern chemical glues all have their own disadvantages. Israeli scientists say they have developed a laser that bonds tissue in a way which leaves almost no trace.

所有的外科手术患者都希望伤口迅速弥合还不留疤。不过，不管是传统的针线缝合还是更现代化一些的化学粘合都有不尽如人意之处。以色列的科学家们说，他们发明了一种激光，可以几乎不留痕迹地弥合伤口。

For decades, doctors have known that cuts in living tissue can be “welded” together by heat. But keeping the temperature of the welding tool constant proved to be a daunting² problem, according to Abraham Katzir, head of Tel Aviv University’s Applied³ Physics Department.

据特拉维夫大学应用物理系主任亚伯拉罕·卡齐尔（Abraham Katzir）说，几十年来，医生们都知道，活体组织上的裂口可以用高温“焊接”在一起。但是保持焊接工具的温度一直是一个难题。

"If you heat a spot on an incision⁴ to temperatures lower than say 50 or 55 degrees centigrade nothing happens. If you are above 65 degrees than you cause scarring," he said.

卡齐尔说，“你对着伤口上的一个点加热，如果温度低于50、55摄氏度，那什么作用也不起。但是如果温度高于65度，就又会留疤。”

A team led by Katzir developed a laser that can project a spot of infrared⁵ light, or heat, and at the same time precisely⁶ control the temperature of the targeted tissue.

由卡齐尔领导的这个小组发明了一种激光，它可以投射出一个红外光点，也就是热源，同时又能准确地控制被加热组织的温度。

"We carried out experiments on a large number of tissues, on skin, on cornea, on blood vessels⁷ and so on and we have gradually improved," said Katzir.

卡齐尔说，“我们在大量的组织上做实验，在皮肤上，眼角膜上，血管上等等，我们在逐渐地进步。”

The heat transmitted through a single optical fiber⁸ makes the molecules⁹ of collagen - the main structural¹⁰ protein of all connective tissues - bond and close the wound.

高温通过一根光纤传导，把胶原蛋白分子粘合在一起，从而弥合伤口。胶原蛋白是所有结缔组织的主要结构蛋白。

Ichilov Medical Center ophthalmic surgeon David Versano says this makes the new tool suitable for microsurgery on blood vessels and nerves. The method has been used successfully to heal incisions¹¹ in corneas taken from dead cows.

伊契洛夫医疗中心眼科医生大卫?瓦尔萨诺（David Versano）说，这使得这项新工具适用于在血管和神经上所做的显微手术。此法已被成功用于在从死牛身上取下的眼角膜上弥合伤口。

“The advantages of the procedure are that we can get bonding to be probably much stronger than with sutures," he said. "We hope that the scarring will also be less than with sutures and eventually we'll get the safety of the procedure to be better."

“它的优点在于我们可以让粘接变得比用针线缝合牢固得多。我们希望留下的疤痕也能比针线缝合更小，最终我们还将提升这项技术的安全性。”

Wounds of 10 human patients treated with the laser technique have healed with minimal¹² scarring. Researchers say with additional refinements¹³, the new surgical tool may soon be in wider use.

十位病患身上的伤口经激光治疗后已经弥合，疤痕也很小。研究人员称，再经过一些改进之后，这项新的手术工具可能将很快推广。