Limitations of bronchoscopic carbon dioxide laser surgery

Laser technology has provided new options in the endoscopic management of patients with selected diseases of the tracheobronchial tree. At present, bronchoscopic laser surgery is performed using either the carbon dioxide laser or the neodymium:yttrium aluminum garnet (Nd:YAG) laser. Strong and his colleagues first performed bronchoscopic laser surgery over 10 years ago when they successfully coupled the CO2 laser to a rigid ventilating bronchoscope. Since that time, the indications for bronchoscopic laser surgery have expanded and the instruments used have become both safer and more "user friendly." Despite these advances in CO2 laser technology, certain limitations are associated with its use for the endoscopic management of patients with tracheobronchial lesions. This paper discusses these limitations, places this technology in perspective, and reviews recent publications which have suggested that the Nd:YAG laser may be more efficacious than the CO2 laser for the treatment of the same group of patients.