Lasers in Medicine: An Introductory Guide

In every area of human endeavor, technology has opened the door for new advancements to occur. Much of the progress in medicine over the last few years is due, in large part, to new technological tools made available to clinicians and researchers. Laser is an expanding technological discipline in medicine that will ultimately contribute to a broad and rapid expansion of both diagnostic and treatment procedures. Laser is to light what music is to noise. Those physicians who wish to be most successful in the application of this technology, to the benefit of their patient, will learn of the subtle interactions of light with tissue. No technology is good or bad in itself. It is only in the choices we make, in when and how to apply that technology, that it gains its moral value. The use of lasers in medicine has some very definite advantages in the surgical and medical treatment of a variety of disorders. At the same time we must all be careful to not perpetrate the myth of lasers in medicine. Vastly overstated claims of the value of 'laser surgery' have been held out to the general public, resulting in health care being sought on the basis of laser availability.