Unsedated Laryngeal Laser Surgery

A minimally invasive procedure using a CO2 laser delivered endoscopically with a special fiber was able to clear growths in the larynx and trachea caused by recurrent respiratory papilloma (RRP) without the need for anesthesia.

In the past, CO2 lasers have been used to treat RRP but only in the operating room, with the patient under general anesthesia. Now, the OmniGuide fiber allows use of the same CO2 laser technology but in a clinic setting instead of the operating room. The OmniGuide fiber delivers the laser energy through a flexible Pentax endoscope and the patient can go home immediately following the procedure. The OmniGuide fiber is a hollow-core cylindrical photonic bandcap optical fiber, developed by OmniGuide Communications, Inc. (Cambridge, MA, USA).

"OmniGuide has introduced a cutting-edge technology that will push outpatient laryngeal surgery to a new level; and, by moving most of laryngeal surgery out of the operating room and into the clinic, the cost savings per procedure will be measured in the tens of thousands of dollars, and the national cost savings will be huge,” commented Dr. Jamie Koufman, the director of the Center for Voice and Swallowing Disorders of Wake Forest University at the Voice Center (Winston-Salem, NC, USA), who performed the procedure. Dr. Koufman has pioneered work in laryngeal laser surgery, laryngopharyngeal reflux, and other forms of laryngeal rehabilitation surgery.




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