The photo below was taken immediately after a surgical incision. The first half of this incision was made by a scalpel (left side) and the second half by an Aesculight SuperPulse CO2 laser (right side). It is easy to see that there is less inflammation on the SuperPulse CO2 laser half. Also, there was less blood produced by the SuperPulse CO2 laser incision, producing a clearer operatory field.
About the laser and its settings:
An American-made Aesculight 10,600 nm carbon dioxide laser was used with a spot size of 0.25 mm at 13 watts SuperPulse. To learn about the many advantages of Aesculight lasers, click here.
María Suárez, DVM, PhD, CVA, shares her experience
This incision was made by María Suárez, DVM, PhD, CVA, a veterinary faculty member at the Complutense University of Madrid. She was kind enough to share her experience using the Aesculight CO2 laser.
“We used the Aesculight for 6 months and it was a great experience. My main initial concerns were wound healing and learning curve. I had been told that laser incisions looked worse during the first days, and the final result was similar to cold steel ones. But I found that my patients’ surgical wounds healed better with the laser from day 1, especially since I started to use higher power densities ( higher power settings and smaller tip diameter). As far as the learning process, it took me half a dozen procedures to start feeling more confident, but from there it was much faster and really enjoyable. I do only Soft Tissue surgery. The control you get on the depth of incisions and the cleaner surgical field was a big part of it. Some procedures that have since become “laser only” for me include infiltrating tumors, perineal adenomas, mammary surgery, gingivectomy, neutering, and many more. However, there are still a few procedures that I consider to be “laser-assisted”; I am still using cold steel for most intra-abdominal digestive and urinary procedures, but performing laparotomy with the laser. The post-ops improvement has been important; patients seem more comfortable, pain-free, and are less interested in their wounds.”
En Español:
“Hemos usado el Aesculight unos 6 meses y ha sido una experiencia estupenda. Mis preocupaciones inicialmente eran la cicatrización y la curva de aprendizaje para sacar el máximo rendimiento clínico al equipo. Tenía entendido que las incisiones hechas con láser tenían peor aspecto al principio pero finalmente eran similares a las del bisturí convencional. Pero he comprobado cómo las heridas quirúrgicas de mis pacientes cicatrizaban mejor desde el primer día, especialmente desde que empecé a usar densidades de potencia superiores (más potencia con puntas de menor diámetro). En cuanto al proceso de aprendizaje, tarde media docena de intervenciones en empezar a sentirme más segura pero después fue mucho más rápido y ameno. Sólo hago tejidos blandos, y el control en la profundidad de corte y la mejor visibilidad en el campo supusieron una gran diferencia. Algunas intervenciones se pueden hacer usando sólo el láser: tumores infiltrantes, adenomas perianales, mastectomías, gingivectomías, castraciones y otras muchas. En otras el láser sería una ayuda, recurriendo al bisturí convencional para la mayoría de procedimientos digestivos y urinarios intraabdominales, pero usando el láser en la laparotomía. La mejoría en los postquirúrgicos también ha sido importante: los pacientes están más cómodos, sin dolor y con menos interés en la herida.”
Thank you to Steve Nielsen of Medicine Technology and You for taking this photo and helping to put this all together.
