Soft-tissue Laser Surgery

Soft-tissue Laser Surgery

In soft-tissue laser surgery, interaction of laser light with the soft tissue provides a special approach to surgery. A highly focused laser beam vaporizes the soft tissue with the high water content. Laser can make very small incisions when the beam is focused on the tissue (focal spot size can be as small as =0.1 mm, but the most widely used in practice is 0.4 mm). When the beam is defocused, the intensity of the laser light on the tissue diminishes, and it can be used for cauterization of small blood vessels and lymphatics, therefore decreases post-operative swellings.

A laser beam has a natural sterilization effect—it evaporates bacteria, viruses and fungi, which leads to a decrease in local infections. Probably most important, the laser decreases post-operative pain by sealing nerve endings. Soft-tissue laser surgery is differentiated from hard-tissue laser surgery (bones and teeth in dentistry ) and Laser Eye Surgery (eyesight corrective surgeries ) by the type of lasers used in a particular type of laser surgery.

Hard Tissue surgical lasers are dominated by Er:YAG lasers operating at the wavelengths around 3,000 nm. Laser Eye Surgeries utilize excimer lasers in the UV range of wavelengths. Unlike many solid-state and diode lasers in the visible and near infrared wavelength range (600-2,000 nm), the Carbon dioxide or CO₂ laser wavelength (10,600 nm) is highly absorbed by in-vivo soft tissues containing water. Furthermore, modern CO₂ laser technology makes these lasers far more affordable than solid-state Er:YAG lasers, which also feature a wavelength that is highly absorbed by water. Because of their wavelength and precision, CO₂ lasers remain the dominant soft-tissue surgical lasers.

Surgical laser systems are differentiated not only by the wavelength, but also by the light delivery system: flexible fiber or articulated arm, as well as by other factors.

Soft-tissue laser surgery is used in a variety of applications in human (General surgery, Neurosurgery, ENT, Dentistry, Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery etc.) as well as veterinary surgical fields.