Applications of LASER in Medical Science

(B). Applications in medicine and surgery :
Laser light can be concentrated into spots, it is therefore not surprising that the laser has found applications not only in diagnosis but also in treatment and surgery.

Laser surgery has been known since the mid-1960s, when the first retinal lesions were being successfully repaired and retina detachments averted. Today, laser surgery is a vast field of activity covering gynaecology, tonsils removal, drilling and cutting bone tissues (histology), gastric bleeding, removal of port wine birth marks and tattoos (dermatology).

The advantages of the laser are :the ability to reach inaccessible place, aiming accuracy, much reduced bleeding (the laser scalpel attacks fewer cells than a steel knife and evaporates them quickly), near absence of oedema, and reduction or suppression of pain. On the negative side are low cutting speed and safety related problems.

Figure 16. :Schematic diagram of articulated arm laser beam delivery system used in surgery with CO₂ lasers Figure 17. :Schematic diagram for surgical removal of arterial plague using laser radiation. Laser is carried down an optical fibre inserted into the artery. In the system a viewing fibre bundle is also incorporated.

Two types of development work are at present underway, in which the laser beam induces changes in cells, as opposed to destroying them. With this technique, genetic engineering does not seem far away as hereditary characteristics could be affected. In laser acupuncture, the thousand-year-old silver and gold needles are replaced by fine, micromanipulator-oriented laser beams.


Figure 16. :Schematic diagram of articulated arm laser beam delivery system used in surgery with CO₂ lasers	Figure 17. :Schematic diagram for surgical removal of arterial plague using laser radiation. Laser is carried down an optical fibre inserted into the artery. In the system a viewing fibre bundle is also incorporated.