Carson Country Business: Vets using lasers for surgery on pets

Many of the animals undergoing surgery at Sierra Veterinary Hospital bleed less during surgery and suffer less afterward, thanks to a new laser surgery machine.

The carbon dioxide laser uses a powerful, concentrated and programmable beam of light to slice through tissue, replacing the steel scalpel blade.

As the laser makes its incision by exploding tissue cells, it also seals off small blood vessels, nerve endings and lymph passages, veterinarian Gary Ailes explained.

There is less pain afterward because nerves are sealed. The wound does not seep because the lymph passages are closed. Because surrounding tissues are not bruised, as they often are by conventional surgery, there's little swelling around incisions afterward.

"We removed a tumor from the sclera (white of the eye) of a dog on Wednesday and sent him home.

"There was no indication that the owners would have to take precautions to prevent him from rubbing it, though we sent an 'E-collar' along just in case," said veterinarian Woody Allen.

An E-collar is a funnel-shaped device that prevents an animal's paws from reaching its face. The E stands for Elizabethan, Allen said, and refers to the fancy collars warn by some people in that era.

When the dog, a German shepherd cross named Shilo, was released to its owners, Allen said, they asked where Ailes had "gone in," because there was no external incision and no bandage.

"When we've declawed cats, they are behaving normally almost right away," Ailes said. Declawing involves removing the last toe joint that carries the claw and is attached by three tendons. "I didn't like to do declaws on older cats because of the amount of pain associated with it. Now they seem to do equally well after surgery as the younger cats."

Ailes said laser surgery also means veterinarians can remove cancerous tumors without taking as much healthy flesh from around the tumor.

He said that a surgeon has be careful not to accidentally cut into a cancerous tumor because the scalpel blade will drag cancer cells to healthy flesh and possible spread the disease.

The standard procedure is to excise a tumor by cutting through healthy flesh a bit distant from the tumor to provide a safety margin.

"With the sealing effect of the laser, we can have a lot thinner safety margin and take less excess tissue," Ailes said.

Allen pointed out that since there is no actual contact between the wand of the laser and the surgery site, there is less risk of infection in laser surgery.

In the month since the $40,000 laser arrived, Ailes and Allen have used it in declawings, tumor removals, anal gland removals and oral surgeries.

The laser can also be used for spays and neuterings, but the veterinarians are awaiting the arrival of additional hand pieces before doing more invasive surgeries. Those procedures might result in contact of the hand piece with tissue so they need enough spares that they can be sterilized and switched, Ailes explained.

"There's a myriad of procedures that can be done. It's a matter of ingenuity," Ailes said.

Lasers are used in a number of cosmetic and dermatological procedures on humans, from removing tattoos and skin spots to erasing wrinkles and tightening up sagging skin.

"When they scan an area of skin with a laser, it shrinks and tightens up. We can use the same effect on a condition we see the eyelids of some dogs, particularly pugs, where the lid has curled inward and the lashes are damaging the cornea," Ailes said. "We scan the laser across the outside of the lid and it flattens back out."

The use of laser surgery on pets is several years old, but the cost of the equipment is a factor in adopting it, Ailes said.

Allen started his practice in 1976 and Ailes joined as a partner four years later. The two had to plan and budget for the purchase as would any business.

"Before we bought it, we saw demonstrations at meetings and looked at videos of actual procedures," Ailes said. "Then before we bought the machine I took some training in Davis, Calif., by a company that specializes in such training.

"Every different type of laser, depending on the wavelength of the light it uses, has a different effect on tissue. I gained a lot of confidence by being able to try several different types of lasers during that training."

"Costwise, we don't actually charge more or less for doing the procedure, but we do add a charge for the use of the machine," Allen said.

"But that's mostly offset because the owners aren't having to buy as much pain killer or other items for the recovery."

Because the patients don't feel as much discomfort during surgery, the procedures are often done with less anesthetic, Ailes explained.

He said the use of laser surgery is an enhanced option for pet owners.

"We can perform these procedures either way and don't try to pressure anyone either way. We explain what benefits the choices offer and proceed according to the owners' decisions." he said.

Ailes said he knows that one veterinary practice in Reno also offers laser surgery and that a laser machine is on loan on a trial basis to another practice in Carson City.