가톨릭대학교 의과대학 성빈센트 병원 신경외과
Since its introduction in 1980s, Laser therapy, a minimally invasive, outpatient, effective, and relatively safe procedure for spine disease, has established itself world-wide. percutaneous laser disc decompression (PLDD) was mainly applied to treat lumbar disc herniation with a satisfactory efficacy. Recently, laser therapy has been used for many cases of lumbar stenosis and cervical disease.In this article, advantages and disadvantages of laser will be discussed, and technical and clinical aspects of current applications will presented. Such applications include Percutaneous lumbar disk decompression (PLDD), Percutaneous endoscopic laser annuloplasty(PELA), Epiduroscopic laser neural decompression(ELND), Laser disk decompression in cervical disk diseases.
