Diode laser-assisted management of intraoral soft tissue overgrowth: a case series

The conventional method of managing intraoral soft tissue overgrowth involves surgical excision using a scalpel under local anesthesia. These procedures are often associated with excessive bleeding that leads to complications. Now, minimally invasive methods such as laser excision are available for the management of intraoral soft tissue lesions. The objective of the present case series is to describe the use of a 980-nm diode laser to treat 4 cases of soft tissue enlargement of the oral cavity. Two women and 2 men with an age range of 21-73 years presented with chief complaints of intraoral swelling. The overgrowth was located on the tongue in 2 patients and in the gingival region in 2 patients. In all 4 patients, the overgrown tissues were excised with a 980-nm gallium-arsenide diode laser at a power of 1.0-4.0 W in continuous-wave contact mode. Excised tissues were sent for histopathologic examination to confirm the clinical diagnosis. Each lesion was excised with adequate hemostasis in 15-20 minutes. At the recall examination after 10 days, patients did not report any postoperative complications. There was no sign of recurrence in any patient at the 3-month follow-up. Based on the histopathologic reports, 2 lesions were diagnosed as pyogenic granuloma, 1 as capillary hemangioma (a form of pyogenic granuloma), and 1 as peripheral ossifying fibroma. The results of this limited case series suggest that a 980-nm diode laser may be an advantageous surgical modality for treating benign proliferative lesions of the oral mucosa with negligible postoperative adverse sequelae.