Lasers
What is a laser?
The word LASER comes from the initial letters of the term 'light amplification by stimulated emission of radiation'.
In simple terms, this means that a laser is a device that produces an intense beam of light. This beam has a single wavelength and can be focused very accurately.
There are many different types of laser, each using a different substance to produce a light beam of a particular wavelength. Examples include ruby, carbon dioxide, and rare earth metals such as erbium. The light beams produced by these substances have different properties. The beams can also be continuous or released in pulses. The different laser types are suitable for different medical treatments.
Lasers in medicine
When a laser beam is focused on a part of the body, intense heat is usually produced. This can have the effect of destroying the tissue being treated or cutting through it. Because laser beams can be focused very accurately, they can be used with great precision with no damage to nearby parts of the body.
This makes laser treatment very suitable for destroying tiny skin blemishes or removing local areas of abnormality, such as the abnormal cells sometimes found when a Pap smear of the cervix is performed.
Other less precise forms of laser light can be used for larger problems such as warts and some types of birthmark.
Lasers can also be used for cosmetic skin resurfacing to combat wrinkles and sun damage, and to remove hair and tattoos.
As well as treating skin problems, lasers are used in a wide variety of conditions previously requiring difficult surgical operations. Often they allow operations to be carried out with no blood loss. An example is prostate laser surgery to treat an enlarged prostate.
Operations on the eye are often performed with lasers. For example in LASIK eye surgery, the cornea (front of the eye) is shaved with a laser to correct vision problems such as short-sightedness.
More and more uses are now being found for this remarkable scientific advance.
Last Reviewed: 08 September 2010
- 1. DermNet NZ. Lasers in dermatology (updated 27 Aug 2010). http://www.dermnetnz.org/procedures/lasers.html (accessed Mar 2011).
2. MayoClinic.com. Laser resurfacing (23 May 2009). http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/laser-resurfacing/MY00560 (accessed Mar 2011).
3. MayoClinic.com. LASIK eye surgery (26 Jan 2011). http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/lasik-eye-surgery/MY00376 (accessed Mar 2011).
4. MayoClinic.com. Prostate laser surgery (23 Jul 2009). http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/prostate-laser-surgery/MY00611 (accessed Mar 2011).
