Laser Referrals
Our Hospital has been using laser surgery since the 1980s, when we bought a CO2 laser and have used it with great success for treating sarcoids and other skin lesions. In 1997 we bought a Nd:YAG laser, which can be used via a glass fibre which is ideally suited to endoscopic use, allowing this powerful treatment technique to be directed non-invasively to relatively inaccessible sites, or to regions that would otherwise require a surgical approach.
Now, much of our laryngeal, palatal and some nasal surgery can be carried out with the horse standing under sedation and local analgesia. This has meant that hospitalisation times are shorter, costs are reduced and post-operative management is easier.
The Nd:YAG laser can also be used with a hand piece as a scalpel. This has found great application for the removal of sarcoid tumours and some other skin lesions. We can combine laser excision with the use of the heavy metal cream to provide arguably the optimal treatment, for many sarcoids, which, as we all know, can be extremely frustrating to deal with.
Other lesions that we have successfully treated by endoscopic laser surgery include intra-uterine cysts, a urethral mass and a bronchial tumour. The technique has the potential to treat a range of urogenital, upper alimentary and respiratory cases.
If you have a case that you think might be suitable for referral, please feel free to discuss it with one of the surgeons at our hospital.
