- Laser scalpel
A laser scalpel is a
scalpel forsurgery , cutting or ablating living biological tissue by the energy oflaser light. Insoft tissue laser surgery , a laser beam ablates or vaporizes thesoft tissue with the high water content.In
ophthalmology excimer laser s are used for changing the shape of thecornea , procedures known asLASIK andLASEK .Other surgical fields where the use of a laser scalpel is common are
circumcision ,neurosurgery andvascular surgery . Today YAG and CO2 lasers are used, but possible benefits of using the vastly more expensivefree electron laser s are being researched.For research use in
cell biology , special laser micro-scalpels can make cuts smaller than a single cell.Literature
*D.H. Sliney, S.L. Trokel: "Medical lasers and their safe use", ISBN 3-540-97856-9
*Leon Danaila, Mihail-Lucian Pascu: "Lasers in Neurosurgery", ISBN 973-27-0802-6
*K. K. Jain: "Handbook of Laser Neurosurgery", ISBN 0-398-04844-4External links
* [http://www.vanderbilt.edu/News/research/ravf96/ravf96_7.html Vanderbilt — free electron laser for brain tumor removal]
* [http://www.thecrimson.com/article.aspx?ref=353527 Harvard — laser micro-scalpels]
* [http://www.aesculight.com/expert-opinion.php How to select a surgical veterinary laser] by Prof. George M. Peavy
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