Lasers in Surgery: A Return to Reason

The announcement of laparoscopic laser cholecystectomy in 1989 sparked a widespread interest in lasers and laser technology. Early proponents of laparoscopic cholecystectomy described it as an operation to be performed with a laser, and available literature suggested that laser energy was necessary to accomplish laparoscopic gallbladder removal. Indeed, in those early days, it seemed that attempting laparoscopic cholecystectomy without a laser engendered significant malpractice exposure as published material stressed the use of lasers.