[Cartilage reshaping by laser in stomatology and maxillofacial surgery]

The restoration of congenital and traumatic malformations of the head and neck, together with the defects resulting from the trauma of ablative surgery, continue to pose significant problems to surgeons. The post-operative results are not always satisfactory because of the difficulty of shaping the cartilage and because of the tendency of cartilage to return to its original shape. Better understanding of laser-cartilage interaction and the development of a specific instrumentation Lasers (CO2, Nd: YAG, Ho: YAG) has enabled ex situ and in situ cartilage reshaping. A recent clinical study has demonstrated that nondestructive laser irradiation can reshape septal deviations