Laser Surgery

Laser Surgery is any form of surgery using laser technology.

Description

The word laser is an acronym. Its stands for Light Amplification by Stimulated Emission of Radiation. The first working laser was built in 1960.

Lasers require an active medium and an outside energy source to stimulate the active medium. Unlike ordinary light from an incandescent bulb, lasers emit light that is monochromatic (one color), directional, and usually of a single wavelength.

Laser light is generated when certain atoms are stimulated sufficiently so as to emit energy in the form of a brilliant beam of coherent light. By placing highly polished mirrors at either end of the active medium - as is commonly done in a laser - the emitted photons are guided back through the active medium. This amplification of energy accounts for the remarkable qualities of lasers.

During the last decade, laser technology has become an effective weapon in the battle against disease. The laser has been recruited for surgery to zap trouble bodywide, particularly in hard to reach or delicate areas with small operative fields, such as the eye, fallopian tube, or mouth.

Specialists claim that the high-tech instrument can minimize such scalpel drawbacks as bleeding, swelling, bruising, scarring, pain and lengthy recovery. The laser has been successfully used in a number of areas:

Ophthalmology: Introduced into medicine as a tool for repairing leaking blood vessels in the eye, the laser is widely accepted in surgery for retinal diseases (suffered by many with diabetes), glaucoma, and removal of the secondary membrane after cataract removal.

Obstetrics-gynecology: Lasers are in employed to remove ovarian cysts, unblock fallopian tubes to reverse infertility, and treat urinary incontinence or ectopic pregnancy. They also offer an alternative to hysterectomy for uterine bleeding - one that preserves childbearing capability.

Surgeons opt for the laser in about half of procedures for endometriosis, a...