Carbon－Dioxide Laser Surgery Applied to the Intracranial Lesions

We have experienced many instances of carbon-dioxide (CO2)-laser surgery during the last five years. The majority of these cases were intracranial tumors. The validity of CO2-laser treatment was evaluted in accordance with following indices. The capacity of CO2-laster in cotrolling the intraoperative hemorrhage and shortening the operating time, the correlation between tumor size/vascularity and intraoperative bleeding/operating time, which were principally evaluted in the case of meningioma group. The degree of tumor removal and postperative edema with or without CO2-laser, was also investigated in the glioma cases. As a result, the quantity of blood transfused during operations in meningioma groups decreased since the untroduction of CO2-laser apparatus into the neurosurgical field as compared with the pre-laster era, although there was no difference in operating time before and after the introduction of CO2-laster surgery. Also noted are no meaningful difference in postperative brain edema assessed by computed tomographic (CT) scans between the laser-applied glioma group and the non-laser-applied group. Moreover, there seemed no remarkable adverse effects owing to CO2-laser surgery. Some useful operational techniques were also investigated. In conclusion, we thought that the CO2-laser system was useful for intracranial operations.

Laser

Carbon dioxide laser

Laser surgery

Neurosurgery

Brain tumors