FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

MARCH 15, 2010

ST. JOHN’S HOSPITAL OFFERS MINIMALLY INVASIVE

FLEXIBLE LASER FIBER TREATMENT

St. John’s neurosurgeons and ear, nose and throat surgeons are now offering the OmniGuide BeamPath, flexible laser fiber treatment for patients.

The OmniGuide BeamPath is used to treat certain ear, nose and throat cases including: cancers of the mouth, larynx, pharynx and treating narrowing of the larynx and trachea. The laser can also be used in neurosurgical cases including, resection of the brain, spine tumors and the release of tethred cords in infants. 

The OmniGuide BeamPath is the world’s first flexible fiber for delivering CO2 laser energy. OmniGuide’s technology is based on breakthrough materials science research conducted at MIT.

"This novel technology allows us to make very fine, bloodless cuts that improve the precision of surgical dissection.  This can lead to shortened surgery time and improved outcomes for our patients," says St. John’s neurosurgeon, Dr. Alan Scarrow.

For decades, lasers have provided surgeons with the only no touch surgical tool available. Now in use for over thirty years in medicine, CO₂ laser energy is considered the safest and most precise of all laser types.  Water, the primary component of tissue, absorbs CO₂ laser energy better than any other medical laser. This translates into minimal thermal spread around vaporized tissue and makes CO₂ laser energy ideal for applications near critical anatomical structures. In addition, CO₂ laser energy seals small blood vessels as it cuts through the tissue thus achieving bloodless dissection and vaporization.

Until recently, the CO₂ laser was limited to treating certain clinical indications due to its rigid “line of sight” delivery mechanism. The new flexible fiber has changed that paradigm with the ability to bend laser energy. Surgeons accustomed to “line-of-sight” CO₂ lasers can now access previously inaccessible anatomical regions and structures. Clinicians who have not used the CO₂ laser in the past can now benefit from the precision of CO laser energy in a handheld instrument that is similar in feel to holding a pencil.

###

FOR MEDIA INFORMATION PLEASE CONTACT ST. JOHN’S MEDIA RELATIONS AT 417-820-2171 OR ANGELA.GARRISON@MERCY.NET