LASER MEDICINE & SURGERY NEWS - VOLUME 3 NUMBER 1

McGuirt, Salmon, and Blalock (Laryngoscope, 1984, 94:1176-1179) report that normalspeech as well as an improved airway is possible with CO2 laser surgery of laryngeal webs.CO2 laser microsurgery affords greater control of precision in incisions and soft tissueresections.

GASTROENTEROLOGY

Tatsuta and his associates from Japan destroyed implanted gastric tumors in rats byacridine orange photo-activation with an argon laser. In our laser laboratory, Tomsonand his associates used acridine orange and the argon laser for mouse epithelial tumors.Acridine orange is too toxic for use in man. However, Tatsuta and his associates foundthat in man, 10 mgs/kg produced fluorescence to gastric cancer as well as local injectioninto a gastric tumor by direct vision with a gastroscope.

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NdYAG laser is used more frequently for gastrointestinal treatments. Sander, Pösl,and Spuler (Endoscopy, 1984, 16:149-151) used it for nontumoral stenoses, 2 peptic onesin the esophagus and 2 postoperative ones in the sigmoid colon. They claim the NdYAGlaser is capable of replacing surgical treatment.

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Fleischer and Sivak (Gastroenterology, 1984, 87:815-820) treated 15 patients withadvanced adenocarcinoma of the gastric cardia with palliative laser surgery, theendoscopie NdYAG. There were no major complications from the laser.

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Kloess (Michigan Medicine, June 1984, p. 284) indicated that the argon laser ispreferred for G.I. nonbleeding lesions, angiodysplasia, telangiectasia of Osler-Weber-Reudu, nonbleeding visible vessels in ulcer craters, and sessile polyps in familialpolyposis coli. The NdYAG laser is more effective for actively bleeding lesions andlarger tumor masses.

DERMATOLOGY AND PLASTIC SURGERY

Weisman (Michigan Medicine, June 1984, pp. 283-284) reviewed the uses of argon, CO2,and NdYAG lasers for plastic surgery at Sinai Hospital (Detroit). He reports the usualprocedures for portwine marks (with 10% scarring). The CO2 laser is used for tattoos.Ethyl chloride sprays are used to chill the skin. Antibiotic ointments and Ace bandagesare used as postoperative treatments.

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Touquet and Carruth (Lasers in Surg. and Med., 1984, 4:191-199) used the minimalblanching power of the argon laser to treat portwine marks. The first procedure is toobtain a satisfactory test patch. They believe also that separate test patches must bedone on the especially sensitive areas on the upper lip and chin. The argon laser usedin the treatment varied from 0.4 W to 1.220 W.

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