Thermal and non-thermal laser dissection.

Conventional cw-(continuous wave) laser systems such as the CO2- and Nd:YAG-laser are well established in medical therapy for tumour resection, tissue cutting, vaporisation and coagulation. The argon-ion laser is also a "classic" laser type with applications in ophthalmology, dermatology and for micro-surgery. New lasers in the IR-range of the optical spectrum appear on the market as pulsed lasers for tissue ablation searching for their specific fields of application. There is some confusion about laser applications at the moment until the new techniques and methods have proven to be really superior to other techniques. But knowing more about the laser tissue interactions one can estimate the potential of a new laser source. This article gives a short overview over the actual laser systems and the reaction processes with soft and hard tissue.