Progress Report on Laser Therapy in Oral and Maxillo-Facial Surgery

In oral and maxillo-facial surgery, the application of the Nd-YAG laser may be considered as a standard method in the treatment of patient suffering from hemorrhagic diathesis. ACKERMANN (1984) re-portet his experiences of more than 1000 treatments in oral surgery during the last 10 years, executed in cooperation with the Munich Centre of Haemophilia. In his studies, the indication of laser-coagulation diseases (Haemophilia A and B), infirmity of thrombocytes (Thrombastenia, Thrombocytopenia, disorders of the function of thrombocytes) and the more exceptional vascular bleeding diseases. Postoperative bleeding was reported in 10% of the cases and therefore lies within the known limit. In most cases an ambulant treatment with local anaesthesia was possible. Only for patients with severe Haemophilia A with a remaining activity of factor VIII below 1% as well as in cases of inhibitors against factor VIII a stay in hospital for 1 or 2 days was necessary. Also the laser coagulation in anticoa-gulated patients has been successfully used. Ackerraann’s clinical studies show that the Nd-YAG-laser is a remarkable alternative to the classical methods of treatment, considering especially the possibility to avoid the problem of transferred plasma proteins during surgical treatment.