Clinical application of the Nd:YAG laser endoscopy.

We report here our clinical experiences with Nd:YAG laser therapy, and evaluate the results of this treatment. From July 1980 to December 1981, we carried out endoscopic laser treatment for 31 patients with 33 lesions. Bleeding gastric ulcers except stomal ulcers were treated successfully. For mucosal lesions of the stomach, Nd:YAG laser irradiation was effective in extirpating them. In advanced gastric cancers, symptoms of cardiac stenosis could be relieved in 80% of the cases. Endoscopic laser therapy was also effective in 80% of postoperative stenosis in the gastrointestinal tract. It is concluded that endoscopic irradiation with the Nd:YAG laser is useful for hemostasis and also for the treatment of malignant tumors and stenosis of the gastrointestinal tract.