Clinical Application of CO2 Laser

The evaluation of the usefulness of CO2 laser in microsurgical resection of brain tumors

“…Due to its better coagulation properties and less absorption rate in water, the Nd: YAG laser is considered to be more suitable than the CO2 laser in resection of highly vascularized lesions and in intraventricular laser surgery. [7,11,18] On the basis on the findings presented above, we conclude that the CO2 laser is neither a "panacea" nor a "surgical technique, " but rather a valuable auxiliary surgical tool that combines the abilities of sublimation and coagulation. In no way does it replace dipolar diathermy or any other microsurgical tools.…”

“…By modifying the power level, an adjustable penetration depth can be achieved varying from 0.03 mm to 2 mm. [9,17,18] For combined use with the surgical microscope, the articulated arm can be coupled with the microscope and a micromanipulator which focuses from 200 to 400 mm. e device comes equipped with a He-Ne laser that is on the same axis with the invisible beam of the CO2 laser and functions to aid aiming of the laser during surgery.…”

“…[1] e first CO2 laser was created by Patel [21] and it is the most widely used in neurosurgery today [3,15] as brain tissue contains approximately 80% water [19] and CO2 laser energy gets highly absorbed in water thus providing minimal thermal damage to surrounding tissue. [3,23] Furthermore, CO2 laser provides a safe penetration depth [18] when operating among delicate neurovascular structures. After the early 90s, there has been relatively sparse literature on the use of the CO2 laser in neurosurgery in comparison to other surgical specialties.…”