Endoscopic applications of CO₂ laser system in digestive tract diseases

Abstract

A fiber optic CO₂ laser system made it possible to apply endoscopic treatment. The probe for endoscopic applications is 2.3 mm in diameter and 20 mm in minimum bend radius. The tissue damage of the canine stomach was observed after the CO₂ laser irradiation. It was considered that the optimum condition to radiate on the mucosal lesion was 5 mm distance, 5-10 watts output power and total 5 seconds irradiation time.
On the basis of these results, 38 cases of digestive tract diseases included 13 early gastric cancers have been treated by CO₂ laser, and satisfactory results were obtained.
The endoscopic CO₂ laser treatment is considered to be effective for mucosal cancer of digestive tract.