Anthrayos C. V. Kakkanatt, Anju Kuriakose, Niya Babu, Geethu Gopinath, Aiswarya Sasidharan, Arino John, Anchitha Meenu
BACKGROUND LASER (Light Amplification by Stimulated Emission of Radiation) can be used for treatment of lid, adnexa, conjunctiva & ocular pathologies like I & D of hordeolum internum/ externum/small lid abscess, conjunctival papillae/cyst, cauterization of blood vessels of primary pterygium/corneal pathology/graft failure, wart (filiform), molluscum, skin tag, colloid milium, syringoma, melanocytic nevus, capillary haemangioma etc. We wanted to study the use of Nd:YAG laser in the treatment of ocular pathologies and its outcome. METHODS This is a retrospective study. Case records of 970 patients treated with slit-lamp mounted 532 nm frequency doubled Nd:YAG LASER under local/surface anaesthesia were studied. They were followed up at an interval of 1-week post laser, 1 month and after 6 months. RESULTS Age varied from 14- to 72-yrs (average 38 yrs.). Females were 62% and males were 38%. Out of 970 eyes, 96 eyes with no proper follow-up were excluded from analysis. The case distribution was: pterygium 22%, wart 18%, molluscum 16%, papillae/cyst 8%, others 36%. Patients' tolerance to the procedure was good & no serious complications occurred. CONCLUSION Nd:YAG laser can be used as a safe alternative for surgeries as laser surgical knife. Using slit lamp delivery system and high magnification lens, aids in precise and accurate treatment with minimal complications. It can be performed as a day care procedure. Numerous studies have been conducted on its usefulness in skin lesions, but its effectiveness in treating lesions over eyelids has not been studied very widely, thereby making this study unique.
