title: Introduction to laser surgery.
abstract: Since the first operational laser was produced in 1960, the types and applications of lasers in many fields of medicine have increased dramatically. Many surgical techniques, especially with the CO2, argon, and Nd:YAG lasers, are described and illustrated in the articles in this issue. Current studies involving dye lasers and hematoporphyrin derivative (HPD) are discussed and evaluated.
mesh_terms: D001999:Bronchoscopy; D002245:Carbon Dioxide; D006801:Humans; D007818:Laryngeal Diseases / Q000601:surgery; D053685:Laser Therapy
chemical_list: D002245:Carbon Dioxide