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Uses of Laser Surgery

Surgeons use laser surgery to correct several kinds of health or cosmetic issues. Laser surgery can be used to correct vision problems as well as to remove diseased tissue, bleeding blood vessels, tattoos, birthmarks and wrinkles.

  1. Tumor Removal

    • Lasers can remove cancerous brain and spine tumors by destroying the cells with heat and vaporizing the tumor itself. The surgery can by done alone or in combination with traditional surgical procedures.
      The procedure can remove tumors from all areas of the body, including tumors located very deep in the brain, where traditional surgical procedures would be too dangerous to use.

    Skin Blemishes

    • Birthmarks such as port-wine stains can be effectively treated using laser resurfacing surgery. Freckles and spider veins can also be removed. Laser resurfacing is also known as "laser peel" or "laser vaporization" and works by removing skin one thin layer at a time. Other uses include removing wrinkles or acne scars. People with dark skin and active acne should not have laser resurfacing done, because the surgery can lighten the color of the skin and create scars.

    Tattoo Removal

    • Laser surgery can be used to remove unwanted tattoos. Lasers remove tattoos from the skin by breaking up the ink color with a high-intensity light beam. The number of treatments to remove a tattoo varies according to the size and color of the tattoo.

    Hair Removal

    • Laser hair removal uses a low-energy beam that is directed toward the pigment of the hair. The energy from the laser is absorbed by the follicles in the hair that are actively growing, and it disrupts the growth process that ends with removing the hair. Laser surgery for hair removal requires several sessions, because hair does not stop growing. People with blond, gray or white hair do not respond well to laser hair removal because they have little to no pigment in their hair follicles.

    Vision Correction

    • Laser surgery used for improving vision is most known as LASIK eye surgery. This surgery is done on an outpatient basis and corrects common vision problems such as astigmatism, nearsightedness and farsightedness. During this procedure, the opthalmologist reshapes the cornea at the front of the eye. LASIK will not improve age-related vision problems.

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