Use of the laser in neurosurgery

The laser has become the neurosurgical tool of the 1980s. In neurosurgery, the most important attribute of the laser is its ability to precisely vaporize tissue with minimal mechanical and thermal damage to the surrounding sensitive structures. Although the Nd:YAG laser has use in this medical specialty, the CO2 laser, with its immediate absorption in water, with resultant minimization of scatter and spread to surrounding and deeper tissue, is the most useful laser in neurosurgery and the focus of this article.