Ethical considerations concerning laser medicine.

In 1996 approximately 1 million cosmetic laser treatments were performed; the estimated projection for 2000 is 3.4 million. The turnover for photoepilation systems alone has increased from 85 million dollars in 1997 to 185 million dollars in 1999 (1).There is hardly any other therapy that bears the weight of such high expectations on the part of patients and physicians; no other medical procedure enjoys such fascination and attention. In the course of this trend, basic reflections about medical ethics are increasingly overlooked.