How is a laser used to declaw a cat?
The laser acts as a scalpel that removes the tissue from which the claw grows. Using a laser to perform onychectomy, or declaw, in the cat has become popular in many areas due to the increased availability and improved cost of surgical lasers. The laser energy results in sealing and coagulation of nerves and small blood vessels. This has the effect of decreasing blood loss. Laser techniques are also reported to result in less pain following the procedure. This does not mean the elimination of pain, however, and appropriate pain medications will prescribed by your veterinarian are administered. In a typical laser declaw procedure (laser onychectomy), after anesthetizing the cat, a bone called the third phalanx (one for each claw) is removed. The tissue from which a claw grows, called the ungual crest, is situated on top of each of these bones. By removing the third phalanges, the claw growth tissue is also removed, thus preventing claw regrowth. A veterinarian experienced in laser surge
