To Laser or Not to Laser

One of the most frequently asked questions is, "Do We Offer Laser Surgery ". Quite often the person asking the question is really not familiar with what laser surgery actually does.

Surgical Lasers are used in place of a scalpel blade to make an incision, and cauterize bleeding at the same time. They were first introduced into the human surgical field back in the 1980's. It  was not very well received and interest dropped off. The focus was then turned to veterinary surgery market. Again, it was not really well received.

There can be occasional cases where Laser has a benefit but actual usage is fairly sporadic and not cost effective for most cases.

At Peterborough Pet Hospital we chose not to go with Lasers and instead added Radio frequency ( RF ) electrosurgical surgical units into our two surgical theaters. These units have both Monopolar and Bipolar mode capability which greatly expands its useability for the surgeon and patient. We feel that these RF units give our surgery the flexibility and patient safety we need. Monopolar mode gives a nice controlled cut / cautery function, while Bipolar mode allows very controlled pinpoint cautery needed for delicate surgicalprocedures, as well as during laparoscopic surgery. Surgeons require special training for these units to ensure maximum benefit and safety to patients