LASER FOR THE CARE OF OUR ANIMALS

The term "Laser" stands for "Light Amplification by Stimulated Emission of Radiation". The laser is presented as a monochromatic, collimated and coherent beam of light.

The first application of laser technology in the medical field dates back to the 1960s when it was realised that the properties of these devices could have wide utility. In the veterinary medical field, the use of laser light began in the late 1980s.

Lasers can be used for surgery, analgesic therapy, and tissue biostimulation.

As far as surgery is concerned, the laser cuts coagulate and cauterise. There are many applications, such as oral cavity surgery (tumours, stomatitis, ranulas, etc.)

• nostril plastic surgery
• ear surgery (auricle, ear canal)
• dermatological surgery (papillomas, basaliomas, adenomas, sebaceous epitheliomas, granulomas, keloids, viral plaques etc.)
• exotic animal surgery
• ophthalmic surgery 
• castrations
• abdominal surgery (ovarian hysterectomies, enterectomies, gastrotomies, splenectomies )
• perianal surgery (sacculectomy, perianal fistulas)

Another major use is in antalgic and biostimulation therapies with anti-inflammatory, anti-edemigenous, and antiseptic action.

The pain-relieving effect of the laser is determined by 3 mechanisms

- selective closure of the potassium channels with hyperpolarisation of the nerve cell membrane, thus causing a transient analgesic effect.

- the laser together with the algic remission determines a normalisation of the thermographic picture by cooling the affected part, not by heating it the antalgic effect of the laser does not depend on heat.

- increase in beta-endorphins with long-term analgesia.

The bi-stimulation effect is due to a 22% increase in ATP (adenosine triphosphate), which is an energy substrate for the cell, thus leading to an increase in cell metabolism with better and faster healing times. The laser, therefore, makes it possible to treat:

• surgical wounds
• pressure sores
• pyogenic dermatitis
• licking dermatitis
• burns 
• arthritis, arthrosis
• oedemas, haematomas
• gingivitis, stomatitis
• otitis

The use of lasers in veterinary medicine has many advantages identified in their mini-invasiveness, less bleeding during surgery and less discomfort in the post-operative period and reduced convalescence time.

More and more cutting-edge technologies are being used in veterinary medicine for the care and wellbeing of our animals, and among these, laser light represents a "novelty" that is finding more and more applications in surgical and therapeutic fields as time goes by.