WHAT IS CO2 LASER SURGERY?
|
A LASER (abbreviation for “Light Amplification by Stimulated Emission of Radiation) is an optoelectronic device that produces highly concentrated light rays. Interaction of laser light with the living tissue provides a fundamentally different approach to surgery than conventional scalpel procedures. The CO2 laser emits an intense beam of light that, because of its wavelength of 10.6 micrometers, is highly absorbed by the water-rich soft tissue, making the CO2 laser ideal for soft-tissue surgeries. The resulting concentration of laser energy into a shallow, well-defined volume of penetration, unique to the CO2 laser, ensures safe, efficient and predictable tissue removal while minimizing the zone of necrosis at the margins of the cut. The CO2 laser beam has little or no effect on the tissues beyond the target area.
|
LASER: Light Amplification by Stimulated Emission of Radiation |
The veterinarian can adjust the laser’s effect on the tissue by simply changing the distance between the handpiece tip and the tissue. The tip does not mechanically touch the tissue. When the tip is held just above the surface of the tissue, the laser is ready for incisional work; small blood vessels, capillaries, and nerve endings are sealed as the laser beam proceeds along the target. Drawing the tip slightly farther from the surface allows for the ablation/vaporization of larger tissue volumes. Moving the tip even farther away enables the coagulation of larger blood vessels.
An intensely hot, precisely focused laser beam instantly vaporizes the tissue while sealing capillaries, small blood vessels, lymphatics, and nerve endings, with excellent clinical outcomes!
The CO2 laser is used for incision, excision, vaporization, ablation, and coagulation of soft tissue in various veterinary focuses (dermatology, ENT, ophthalmology, and other specialties). Among small animal veterinarians, soft-tissue CO2 lasers are used for numerous procedures from neuters and spays to ophthalmic and dental applications and treating “hot spots”. CO2 laser also has application in ano-uro-genital procedures, orthopedics, oncology, elective procedures (such as spays, neuters, dewclaw removal, etc.) and numerous miscellaneous soft-tissue applications (i.e. abscess drainage, biopsies, lesions removal, lick granuloma, thyroidectomy, and many more.)