laser therapy
Meaning of laser therapy: Laser therapy applies a focused beam of light to cut, seal, or reshape tissue, with uses spanning surgery, eye care, dermatology, and supportive cancer care.
Definition of laser therapy
Laser therapy is a treatment approach that uses a highly concentrated, narrow beam of light to cut, coagulate, vaporize, or otherwise alter tissue with a precision that is difficult to match with a standard surgical blade. The wavelength and intensity of the beam are adjusted for the tissue being targeted and for the effect intended, whether cutting through it, sealing small blood vessels, or removing an unwanted growth.
Lasers are used across many areas of medicine rather than one narrow purpose. In surgery, laser therapy can remove or shrink abnormal tissue and control bleeding during a procedure. In ophthalmology, a laser can seal a leaking retinal blood vessel or relieve pressure inside the eye. Dermatologists use lasers to remove skin lesions, resurface scarred skin, and remove unwanted hair, and laser treatment can also help reduce lymphedema, a buildup of lymph fluid that can follow cancer surgery.
Because lasers of different wavelengths penetrate tissue to different depths and interact differently with pigment, water, and blood vessels, the type of laser chosen depends on the tissue and outcome intended.
Used in a sentence
Laser therapy was used to seal the bleeding vessel identified during the endoscopic procedure.
Good to know
Laser therapy covers many distinct devices and techniques, so the term alone does not indicate whether a treatment is surgical, meant to control bleeding, or cosmetic, and the specific laser type used matters more than the general label.