Abstract
Photodynamic therapy has been proposed as an intra-operative adjunct to surgical resection of tumors invading bone. To assess this, we studied the effects of PDT in normal bone. Forty- four rabbits were sensitized with Photofrin 3 mg/kg, 5-aminolaevulinic acid (ALA) 400 mg/kg, or meso-tetrahydroxyphenylchlorin (mTHPC) 0.3 mg/kg. A mandibular incisor was removed and the socket irradiated with a cylindrical diffusion fiber (630 nm Photofrin and ALA, 650 nm mTHPC, 100 J per treatment). Irradiation was given 1 or 48 hours after Photofrin, 72 hours after mTHPC, whilst 2 doses were given 2.5 and 4 hours after the first fractionated dose of ALA. The socket of the ipsilateral maxillary incisor was used as a nonirradiated control to assess healing without PDT. Other controls assessed healing after irradiation of unsensitized animals. Rabbits were killed 3, 10, and 21 days after treatment. Tooth socket healing appeared to be the same in all groups of animals with evidence of woven bone formation by 10 days. We conclude that PDT is unlikely to have any effect on healing in normal bone, which makes it suitable for treating tumors invading bone.