LASER COMPLICATIONS

Course overview

LASERS REPRESENT A RELATIVELY NEW GROUP OF DEVICES USED WITHIN THE FIELD OF CUTANEOUS SURGERY. THE FIELD OF LASER SURGERY CONTINUES TO ADVANCE WITH THE ADDITION OF NEW DEVICES AND THE EXPANSION OF INDICATIONS FOR LASER THERAPY. OFTEN HEALTHCARE PROFESSIONALS ARE NOT FAMILIAR WITH THE LATEST ADVANCEMENTS. LASER THERAPY CAN BE DIVIDED BROADLY INTO FOUR DIFFERENT INDICATIONS: VASCULAR LASERS, PIGMENT LASERS, RESURFACING LASERS (ABLATIVE OR NON-ABLATIVE), AND HAIR REMOVAL LASERS. COMPLICATIONS WILL BE BROADLY DISCUSSED; HOWEVER, EACH LASER PRESENTS UNIQUE CHALLENGES, RISK FACTORS, AND COMPLICATIONS. IN GENERAL, THE COMPLICATIONS FROM LASER SURGERY CAN BE MITIGATED BY COMBINING PROPER TECHNIQUE WITH THE APPROPRIATE PATIENT AND DEVICE SELECTION. THIS ACTIVITY DESCRIBES THE USE OF LASERS AND REVIEWS THE ROLE OF THE INTERPROFESSIONAL TEAM IN EVALUATING AND TREATING PATIENTS WHO UNDERGO TREATMENT USING THIS NEW AND RAPIDLY CHANGING TECHNOLOGY AND ASSISTS IN LEARNING TO RECOGNIZE COMPLICATIONS.