An audit of CO2 laser surgery in the mouth.

The use of the carbon dioxide laser to perform surgical procedures in the oral cavity has been described the last few years. This study involved the clinical audit of 83 patients who had undergone laser surgery in the oral cavity during 1985 to 1990 in Birmingham, England. The diagnosis of the 83 lesions treated were benign, premalignant or malignant. The most common sites of the lesions were the floor of the mouth/ventral surface of the tongue and other parts of the tongue, followed by upper alveolus and/or palate, angle of the mouth and/or cheeks, lower alveolus, and lips. The results showed that the use of the carbon dioxide laser in treating oral soft-tissue pathology presented advantages over conventional techniques. Although trismus, numbness and early signs of infection were observed after surgery, local discomfort and pain were the most common complaints after laser surgery. The carbon dioxide laser does not offer any enhanced cure-rate for oral pathology, but rather it is a precise means of removing soft tissue lesions in selected patients with little upset afterwards.