Thermal effects of the Nd:YAG and carbon dioxide lasers on the central nervous system

The use of laser is becoming commonplace in neurological surgery because of the potential for surgical precision with minimal surrounding trauma, improved hemostasis, freedom from electrical interference of evoked potentials recordings, and a variety of other benefits. Despite this enthusiasm, there are little significant data regarding various laser-neural tissue interactions. Thermal transformation was studied using both carbon dioxide and Nd: YAG lasers on rat cerebral cortex. The Nd: YAG laser produced a significant quantity of heat which spread far beyond the boundaries of the histologically identified lesion. The thermal profile of the carbon dioxide laser on brain indicated minimal thermal spread change, even immediately adjacent to the physical edge of the lesion. Mechanisms and ramifications are discussed.