Dr. Irina Tsyganova

Dr. Irina Tsyganova
Another Day at the Office

Monday, July 7, 2014

Lasers and its role in Podiatry

Medical Lasers have many different uses within the medical field; some uses include Lasik eye surgery, cosmetic surgery, tumor removal, dental procedures etc. In the field of Podiatry Medical Lasers can be useful to treat many different conditions. In this blog I will discuss the relevance of lasers to the field of podiatry.
How do Lasers work?
LASER, which stands for Light Amplification by Stimulated Emission of Radiation, work by having an intense beam of light, of a specific wavelength, which then allows the beam to focus on a small area. By having the beam focus on a small area the Laser can be used for surgical work by removing a lesion, burning, destroying or cutting etc.
Are Medical Lasers safe?
Medical Lasers has a source of radiation that is minute, due to the fact that the source of light is so small that it is safe and poses no health risks. Due to the fact that the light is so small it allows a physician to treat specific lesions without destroying the surrounding healthy tissues.
How are lasers used in Podiatry?
In our private practice we utilize 2 different types of laser to combat many different medical conditions.
Our first laser, which is called Sciton Laser, more specifically JOULE ClearSense . This laser is used to treat toenail fungus (also known as onychomycosis) and plantar warts. As per the Sciton’s website, the way the laser works is that the temperature of the laser is high that is heats the nail and decreases the nail fungus and increases the growth of the healthy nail. (http://www.sciton.com/treatments/onychomycosis)
This treatment is painless and takes 15 minutes. We recommend 4 treatments within a 2 month period.
In relation to treating plantar warts, it is a onetime treatment, also using the ClearSense,  that requires a local anesthetic prior to treatment. The treatment of the plantar warts works similarly to the fungal nails, in that is heats the warts and kills the roots.
What about other applications in Podiatry?
We use K laser in our office to treat many different alignments such as plantar fasciitis, Achilles tendonitis, and pain from residual ankle sprains. The way it works is to increase blood flow to an area, which will then increase the oxygen to the area and then increase the healing to the area. We recommend 10 treatments within a 5 week time frame. The treatment is under 10 minutes, is painless and you are able to drive home without sequela.
As technology advances, scientists are finding new ways to treat old conditions. I have had success with these lasers that I have not seen in the past, therefore, I recommend someone with these conditions to try the laser and they will notice the improvement of their conditions.

For more information please visit our website at footnj.com