What are the types of lasers and their uses?
Excimer laser The Excimer laser is perhaps the best known of all lasers because of its use in laser vision correction surgery such as laser in-situ keratomileusis (LASIK) and photorefractive keratectomy (PRK). The Excimer, or pulsed gas laser, emits an ultraviolet light beam, vaporizing tissue by breaking down molecular tissue bonds in a minute targeted area. It is called a cold laser because it doesn’t produce heat that could have harmful effects to the surrounding tissue. The Excimer laser is precise. Each pulse of the laser removes about 1/500 of the thickness of a human hair. Its precise depth and area control are significant in surgical applications such as refractive vision correction. YAG laser An acronym for yttrium-aluminum-garnet, the YAG laser produces short-pulsed, high-energy light beams to cut, perforate, or fragment tissue. This laser may also be called a neodymium-YAG or ND-YAG laser. Cataract patients often have the misconception that a YAG laser is used to remove thei
