Laser surgery in ENT

If the blood supply to your brain is inadequate, even momentarily, you may feel faint. You may even lose consciousness for a short time. If you feel faint, lie down or sit down and place your head between your knees. Sometimes fainting has no medical significance. In other cases, fainting can be caused by a serious underlying condition. If you have recurrent fainting spells, discuss it with your doctor.

LASER is a special light beam. It stands for Light Amplification by Stimulated Emission of Radiation. The surgery in which this beam of light is used is called laser surgery.
Laser beams can be used in human body to do many targeted changes. Use of laser light beam in different surgeries avoid use of knife and minimises bleeding completely or mostly. Even no electro-cauterisation (burning by electricity) is required.
The main advantage of laser is — it cuts into affected tissues in a very thin line, simply vaporizing the targeted tissue; the cut area size and depth are completely prefixed by software. So it makes the procedure precise and meticulous.
It is least painful with rapid healing of the operated area; hence hospital stay and overall costs of the operation is less. Patients can also go back to their day to day works earlier. It is to mention that the Surgeon must be an expert one and well trained. Also the Anesthetic must be specially trained for laser anesthesia.
Laser is effectively used in curing diseases of ENT (ear nose and throat). Amongst ENT diseases, laser is more successful in oral cavity, pharynx and laryngeal diseases, especially in different types of tumor surgeries.
Laser surgery is most successful in cases of vocal cord nodules, Polyps, Papillomas and other tumors causing hoarseness of voice, especially in persons who are in voice dependent professions like teachers, singers, politicians, orators and announcers or TV-Radio news casters. These days in common ENT problems like in allergic conditions, polyps, tumor and hypertrophied turbinate causing nasal blockage are also being treated with laser therapy.
Common oral cavity and throat operations like tonsillectomy, tumors of the oral cavity and tongue are also being treated with hassle free laser therapy. Laser therapy can also cure snoring problems of increasing age minimising various co-morbid conditions affecting heart and blood vessel.
Laser surgery in ENT cases for the last few years has become very popular in Bangladesh because of its advantages and less hospital stay of patients.
The write is the Coordinator and Senior Consultant, ENT of Apollo Hospitals Dhaka.