The carbon dioxide surgical laser in neurological surgery, decubitus ulcers, and burns.

Laser surgery has become an established part of general and specialty surgical techniques. Of all the lasers available today, the carbon dioxide laser possesses the physical and biological-surgical properties of most value to the surgeon. The CO2 laser puts out a spatially and temporally coherent beam of high intensity, infrared radiation at 10.6 micrometers, a wavelength nearly 100% absorbed by tissue. Its action is dependent on heat, and it has the ability to vaporize, cut, and excise all tissue hemostatically, sterilizing as it proceeds. Experimental work in animal patients and man has laid the groundwork for clinical application. The CO2 laser's value as a surgical tool has been clearly shown in the treatment of cancers and other neoplasms in brain, thoracic, and abdominal viscera; larynx; pharynx; nasal and sinus cavities; rectum; vulva, vagina; and uterus, for palliation and, at times, cure. It has been found of undoubted value in the debridement of decubitus ulcers and burns and has great potential for orthopedic surgery and breast surgery. The surgical laser is safe for patient and operating personnel, relatively simple to use, rapid in its action and without untoward impact on tissue locally or at a distance.