For centuries, surgeons have been able to perform procedures quite successfully without the use of the laser. Most surgical procedures are still accomplished with standard techniques but the addition of a powerful, coherent, light source has now expanded surgical diagnostic and therapeutic possibilities. The fiberoptic direction of laser energy has made treatment possible for structures previously accessible only by open surgical exposure. Though initially used for nonspecific thermal destruction of tissue, greater understanding of laser-tissue interaction and advances in laser technology have allowed application of light for different effects in a wide variety of disorders. Nowhere is this more evident than in the field of urology.
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