Lasers in pediatric neurosurgery.

The carbon dioxide (CO2) laser is a microsurgical instrument to be used in conjunction with good neurosurgical technique. Laser surgery has special applications in pediatric neurosurgery because of the type and location of many pediatric tumors as well as the laser qualities of precision and decreased tissue trauma. The CO2 laser has proven to be a valuable surgical tool in this series of pediatric spinal cord and brain tumor patients. The areas of most effective laser treatment were the posterior fossa, ventricles, spinal cord and the suprasellar area. The laser was least helpful in tumors of the hemispheres and the hypothalamus. Criteria need to be developed for absolute and relative indications for CO2 laser use.