Over the past several years, laser therapy has been changing the way veterinarians are practicing pain management and wound healing. Therapy lasers help manage pain and accelerate faster recover from injury, disease and surgery. They do this better than any other modality in both human and veterinary medicine.
Every day, I talk with colleagues who are confused about what is important to consider in selecting and using a therapy laser in a veterinary practice. They hear many conflicting opinions regarding lasers and don’t know who or what to believe. As both a veterinarian and also the founder of two medical laser therapy companies, I believe that the laser you choose should be the one best suited for your clinical purposes, and not a manufacturer’s bottom line. I have been involved in laser therapy since 2002 and in 2003; I received the first FDA-510K marketing clearance for a Class IV therapy laser.
Prior to this, the only Class IV lasers were surgical lasers. The original therapy laser approved was a 7.5 watt laser, using a significantly higher power level in comparison to the Class IIIa (5MW) and Class IIIb (500Mw) lasers at that time. Since then, many thousands of Class IV therapy lasers have been sold at these higher power levels, showing greatly improved and more consistent therapeutic outcomes.
Today the emphasis is on higher power lasers that micro-pulse as this effectively allows the laser practitioner to hold the hand piece static and effectively treat acute and painful focal pathologies without putting out any heat. This new technology can dramatically and effectively increaser outcomes along with being much safer for the operator and patient. On the other hand, these lasers allow one to treat on a continuous basis if required for more chronic pathologies. The severity of pain dictates whether the laser should be micro-pulsed or not.
Degenerative Joint Disease
Tendon Suspensory and Ligament Disorders
Back and Muscle Soreness
Disc and Neurologic Pathologies
Stifle Hip and Saco-Illiac Disorders
Epiphysitis, Carpitis, Sesamoiditis
Laminitis and Navicular Disease
Pre and Post-Surgical Hard and Soft Tissue
Soft Tissue Trauma
Wound Healing: Acute and Chronic
Dental Conditions: Surgical and Non-Surgical
Otitis Externa
Non-Specific Dermatological Conditions
