EFFICACY OF LOW-LEVEL LASER THERAPY ON FISTULA-IN-ANO TREATMENT

BACKGROUND: Treating anal fistulae is still a great challenge due to the possibility of fecal incontinence after surgery and that the use of laser has been gaining space in medicine, including as an inducing method of healing. AIM: To evaluate the efficacy of low-level laser therapy on fistula-in-ano treatment in rats. METHODS: Fifteen male Wistar rats weighing approximately 250-300g were used, which were subjected to the anal fistula induction procedure and after 30 days were distributed into two groups: control group (CG, n=5) and laser group (LG, n=10) observed for another 30 days. In the CG no treatment was performed and, in the LG, low-level laser therapy was applied in fistulous tracts daily. The closure of the fistulous tract, the area of the remaining tract, the inflammatory infiltrate and vascular congestion were evaluated. RESULTS: There was no complete closure of the tract in any of the animals. The mean area of the remaining tract was 847.2 µm(2) in the CG and 248.5 µm(2) in the LG (p=0.001). The mean inflammatory infiltrate score was 2.4 in the CG and 1.3 in the LG (p=0.0285), while in the evaluation of vascular congestion, 1.6 was observed in the CG and 0.6 in the LG (p=0.031). CONCLUSIONS: Low-level laser therapy was able to reduce the area of the fistulous tracts as well as decrease the inflammatory process and local vascular congestion.