Welcome to Our Fifth Annual Laser Surgery
Issue
July 2003
E ach year, in our annual laser surgery issue, we highlight some of the newest treatments and techniques dermatologists are using with lasers and light-based modalities. In this year’s issue, as you’ll read over the next several pages, lasers have become an integral part of many dermatologists’ practices. New treatments using new and old technology for a variety of conditions — from acne to port wine stains — are available, and experts share their insights on the best choices.
It’s very interesting to hear how far laser technology has come — and in such a short timespan. Kenneth A. Arndt, M.D., a veteran in laser technology in dermatology, spoke about some of the historic achievements in laser development. At the American Society for q Medicine and Surgery’s annual meeting in April, Dr. Arndt discussed the history of lasers after accepting the Leon Goldman Memorial Award. This award is given to someone who has dedicated much of his career to researching lasers, giving patients high-quality laser treatments and educating others in the field about the technology.
A Personal Perspective
Dr. Arndt reminisced about being in his third year of medical school in 1960, when T.H. Maiman at the Hughes Aircraft Research Laboratories fired the first laser — a 634 nm ruby laser. Though at the time he was unaware of this, he says, lasers would later become a big part of his work.
From 1965 to 1967 he worked with Dr. Goldman at the University of Cincinnati as Dr. Goldman was developing lasers and demonstrating the effect of lasers on pigmented lesions in animals and on vegetables.
Dr. Arndt then spent a few years working in Boston at what is now the Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center and Harvard Medical School with Irwin Freedberg, M.D.
“Our lives were those of physicians in an academic medical center involved with research, teaching and the delivery of medical dermatology. There were no lasers, and there were very few procedural activities ongoing,” Dr. Arndt says.
But then around 1977, Dr. Arndt says Joel Noe, a plastic surgeon, convinced him to investigate lasers with him. They started a cutaneous laser unit, using Continuous Wave CO2 lasers and the argon lasers, which he describes as large, unmovable and hooked up to walls. They also began to use CO2 lasers, and went on to publish a glossary of terms about the technology.
Some other important dates he recalls include:
• In 1979, Drs. Arndt and Noe developed the first post-graduate course on lasers, “Argon Lasers and Cutaneous Vascular Disease.” They ran this through the Harvard Medical School Department of Continuing Medical Education. In 1981, a second in this series of courses was started, “Cutaneous Laser Therapy.”
• Also in 1979, the ASLMS was established by Dr. Goldman and Ellet Drake, M.D., with help from William Mark, M.D. The first meeting was held in 1981.
• In the early 1980s Rox Anderson, M.D., began to conceive and develop techniques of using selectively absorbed laser pulses.
• In 1981, Cutaneous Laser Therapy – Principles and Methods, was published. This same year, Drs. Anderson and John Parrish published their first article on selective photothermolysis in definitive terms in the first volume of the journal Lasers and Surgery in Medicine.
• In 1985, Dr. Arndt and Jeffrey Dover, M.D., began the combined laser and photo medicine training program run jointly by the Wellman Laboratories.
• In the early 1990s, Milton Waner, M.D., began the Controversies in Cutaneous Laser Surgery Symposium.
Looking Ahead
Dr. Arndt says he’s seen a dramatic growth in acceptance and use of lasers, broad-band light sources, non-thermal light emitting diodes, radiofrequency, and more. He’s also seen a shift from using lasers primarily for medical problems initially to a focus on aesthetic concerns.
“All of this has grown from a technology that didn’t exist when I entered medical school to a field of laser medicine and surgery that didn’t exist when I finished training 7 years later, and I’m sure there are things ahead of us that we can barely imagine,” he explains. “We need to look at all of this with new eyes and a beginner’s mind — open to all possibilities.”
E ach year, in our annual laser surgery issue, we highlight some of the newest treatments and techniques dermatologists are using with lasers and light-based modalities. In this year’s issue, as you’ll read over the next several pages, lasers have become an integral part of many dermatologists’ practices. New treatments using new and old technology for a variety of conditions — from acne to port wine stains — are available, and experts share their insights on the best choices.
It’s very interesting to hear how far laser technology has come — and in such a short timespan. Kenneth A. Arndt, M.D., a veteran in laser technology in dermatology, spoke about some of the historic achievements in laser development. At the American Society for q Medicine and Surgery’s annual meeting in April, Dr. Arndt discussed the history of lasers after accepting the Leon Goldman Memorial Award. This award is given to someone who has dedicated much of his career to researching lasers, giving patients high-quality laser treatments and educating others in the field about the technology.
A Personal Perspective
Dr. Arndt reminisced about being in his third year of medical school in 1960, when T.H. Maiman at the Hughes Aircraft Research Laboratories fired the first laser — a 634 nm ruby laser. Though at the time he was unaware of this, he says, lasers would later become a big part of his work.
From 1965 to 1967 he worked with Dr. Goldman at the University of Cincinnati as Dr. Goldman was developing lasers and demonstrating the effect of lasers on pigmented lesions in animals and on vegetables.
Dr. Arndt then spent a few years working in Boston at what is now the Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center and Harvard Medical School with Irwin Freedberg, M.D.
“Our lives were those of physicians in an academic medical center involved with research, teaching and the delivery of medical dermatology. There were no lasers, and there were very few procedural activities ongoing,” Dr. Arndt says.
But then around 1977, Dr. Arndt says Joel Noe, a plastic surgeon, convinced him to investigate lasers with him. They started a cutaneous laser unit, using Continuous Wave CO2 lasers and the argon lasers, which he describes as large, unmovable and hooked up to walls. They also began to use CO2 lasers, and went on to publish a glossary of terms about the technology.
Some other important dates he recalls include:
• In 1979, Drs. Arndt and Noe developed the first post-graduate course on lasers, “Argon Lasers and Cutaneous Vascular Disease.” They ran this through the Harvard Medical School Department of Continuing Medical Education. In 1981, a second in this series of courses was started, “Cutaneous Laser Therapy.”
• Also in 1979, the ASLMS was established by Dr. Goldman and Ellet Drake, M.D., with help from William Mark, M.D. The first meeting was held in 1981.
• In the early 1980s Rox Anderson, M.D., began to conceive and develop techniques of using selectively absorbed laser pulses.
• In 1981, Cutaneous Laser Therapy – Principles and Methods, was published. This same year, Drs. Anderson and John Parrish published their first article on selective photothermolysis in definitive terms in the first volume of the journal Lasers and Surgery in Medicine.
• In 1985, Dr. Arndt and Jeffrey Dover, M.D., began the combined laser and photo medicine training program run jointly by the Wellman Laboratories.
• In the early 1990s, Milton Waner, M.D., began the Controversies in Cutaneous Laser Surgery Symposium.
Looking Ahead
Dr. Arndt says he’s seen a dramatic growth in acceptance and use of lasers, broad-band light sources, non-thermal light emitting diodes, radiofrequency, and more. He’s also seen a shift from using lasers primarily for medical problems initially to a focus on aesthetic concerns.
“All of this has grown from a technology that didn’t exist when I entered medical school to a field of laser medicine and surgery that didn’t exist when I finished training 7 years later, and I’m sure there are things ahead of us that we can barely imagine,” he explains. “We need to look at all of this with new eyes and a beginner’s mind — open to all possibilities.”
E ach year, in our annual laser surgery issue, we highlight some of the newest treatments and techniques dermatologists are using with lasers and light-based modalities. In this year’s issue, as you’ll read over the next several pages, lasers have become an integral part of many dermatologists’ practices. New treatments using new and old technology for a variety of conditions — from acne to port wine stains — are available, and experts share their insights on the best choices.
It’s very interesting to hear how far laser technology has come — and in such a short timespan. Kenneth A. Arndt, M.D., a veteran in laser technology in dermatology, spoke about some of the historic achievements in laser development. At the American Society for q Medicine and Surgery’s annual meeting in April, Dr. Arndt discussed the history of lasers after accepting the Leon Goldman Memorial Award. This award is given to someone who has dedicated much of his career to researching lasers, giving patients high-quality laser treatments and educating others in the field about the technology.
A Personal Perspective
Dr. Arndt reminisced about being in his third year of medical school in 1960, when T.H. Maiman at the Hughes Aircraft Research Laboratories fired the first laser — a 634 nm ruby laser. Though at the time he was unaware of this, he says, lasers would later become a big part of his work.
From 1965 to 1967 he worked with Dr. Goldman at the University of Cincinnati as Dr. Goldman was developing lasers and demonstrating the effect of lasers on pigmented lesions in animals and on vegetables.
Dr. Arndt then spent a few years working in Boston at what is now the Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center and Harvard Medical School with Irwin Freedberg, M.D.
“Our lives were those of physicians in an academic medical center involved with research, teaching and the delivery of medical dermatology. There were no lasers, and there were very few procedural activities ongoing,” Dr. Arndt says.
But then around 1977, Dr. Arndt says Joel Noe, a plastic surgeon, convinced him to investigate lasers with him. They started a cutaneous laser unit, using Continuous Wave CO2 lasers and the argon lasers, which he describes as large, unmovable and hooked up to walls. They also began to use CO2 lasers, and went on to publish a glossary of terms about the technology.
Some other important dates he recalls include:
• In 1979, Drs. Arndt and Noe developed the first post-graduate course on lasers, “Argon Lasers and Cutaneous Vascular Disease.” They ran this through the Harvard Medical School Department of Continuing Medical Education. In 1981, a second in this series of courses was started, “Cutaneous Laser Therapy.”
• Also in 1979, the ASLMS was established by Dr. Goldman and Ellet Drake, M.D., with help from William Mark, M.D. The first meeting was held in 1981.
• In the early 1980s Rox Anderson, M.D., began to conceive and develop techniques of using selectively absorbed laser pulses.
• In 1981, Cutaneous Laser Therapy – Principles and Methods, was published. This same year, Drs. Anderson and John Parrish published their first article on selective photothermolysis in definitive terms in the first volume of the journal Lasers and Surgery in Medicine.
• In 1985, Dr. Arndt and Jeffrey Dover, M.D., began the combined laser and photo medicine training program run jointly by the Wellman Laboratories.
• In the early 1990s, Milton Waner, M.D., began the Controversies in Cutaneous Laser Surgery Symposium.
Looking Ahead
Dr. Arndt says he’s seen a dramatic growth in acceptance and use of lasers, broad-band light sources, non-thermal light emitting diodes, radiofrequency, and more. He’s also seen a shift from using lasers primarily for medical problems initially to a focus on aesthetic concerns.
“All of this has grown from a technology that didn’t exist when I entered medical school to a field of laser medicine and surgery that didn’t exist when I finished training 7 years later, and I’m sure there are things ahead of us that we can barely imagine,” he explains. “We need to look at all of this with new eyes and a beginner’s mind — open to all possibilities.”
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