What Is Laser Surgery?

There are many reasons why you could need gynecological surgery. You might have a condition like pelvic organ prolapse or endometriosis that requires surgical treatment. Either way, there’s a good chance you’ve been stressed about the problem for some time. And, hearing that you need surgery is never easy.

However, you should know about the benefits of laser surgery for women’s health care. At the Center for Women's Health, we use specialized techniques like laser surgery to keep your procedures as minimally invasive as possible while still delivering top-quality results.

Dr. Cheri L. Coyle, Dr. Douglas Thom, and the board-certified team at the Center for Women’s Health provide gynecological surgery from their locations in Newport News and Hampton, Virginia. Could you benefit from laser surgery? And what is laser surgery, exactly, apart from something that sounds straight out of science fiction?

Here are some of the answers you need about women’s health, laser surgery, and its benefits.

Defining laser surgery

The term “laser surgery” might conjure up images of space ships, but laser surgery has been an effective tool in the hands of today’s surgeons for decades at this point, helping hundreds of thousands of patients around the world.

Laser surgery involves the use of specialized tools like laser scalpels. Lasers, beams of focused light, have powerful and precise cutting power, and can also seal tissue with heat energy. 

Your laser surgery procedure might involve a carbon dioxide (CO2) laser, neodymium:yttrium-aluminum-garnet (Nd:YAG) laser, argon lasers, or laser-induced interstitial thermotherapy (LITT).

Lasers have lots of surgical uses. Laser surgery can help medical professionals remove tumors, seal small blood vessels to prevent blood loss, and seal lymph vessels to prevent the spread of tumor cells, and can also help with skin conditions like moles and warts.

Laser surgery and gynecology

Gynecological surgeries often rely on laser technology. In fact, laser surgery remains one of the best techniques for minimally invasive gynecology. Laser tools can be used in robotic surgery, hysteroscopy through your cervix, or laparoscopy with a keyhole incision in your abdomen.

Your provider at the Center for Women’s Health might use laser surgery to address cysts, genital warts, or precancerous conditions of the cervix. Laser surgery is also used for endometriosis ablation, fibroid tumor treatment, and reducing abnormal uterine bleeding.

Laser surgery techniques may be needed to treat ectopic pregnancy or late-pregnancy complications, as well.

The benefits of minimally invasive surgery

Any surgical procedure puts your body through some stress, and comes with some risks. However, with advanced approaches like laser surgery, the team at the Center for Women’s Health strives to keep your procedure as minimally invasive as possible. When your surgery is less invasive, you have less recovery time, and a lower risk of complications.

Laser surgery limits tissue damage and bleeding during your procedure. Rapid healing and minimal scar formation follow your completed surgery. At the Center for Women’s Health, we offer many laser surgery procedures on an outpatient basis from our offices. We also partner with Mary Immaculate Hospital in Newport News for surgeries as needed.

To learn more about laser surgery and other state-of-the-art surgical techniques that can improve your outcomes and speed your healing, contact the team at the Center for Women’s Health today. Request your initial consultation appointment online, or call now to book.