- Title: ISRAEL: ISRAELI FIRM DEVELOPES SURGICAL LASER BEAM FOR USE IN MEDICINE.
- Date: 18th August 1975
- Summary: 1. GV Beilinson Hospital. 0.05 2. CU Doctors putting on sterile sleeve. (3 shots) 0.19 3. SV PAN FROM Machine to doctors working on laser beam. 0.34 4. DU Laser beam being used on man's temple. 0.50 5. SV Doctors operating. 1.00 6. CU Laser beam used on skull wound. 1.17 7. CU Sign "Laser Industries Ltd." PAN TO technicians
- Embargoed: 2nd September 1975 13:00
- Keywords:
- Location: TEL AVIV, ISRAEL
- Country: Israel
- Reuters ID: LVAD1G17YN8XMM2J3NU7K5TQ30NL
- Story Text: Doctors from around the world are showing an increasing interest in the use of laser beams in surgery and many of them are travelling to Israel where some of the most advanced work in the field is being done.
The firm, Laser Industries Ltd. in Tel Aviv, has developed what it calls the "Sharplan 791", a surgical laser they claim is opening up new techniques and horizons in surgery. The company already boasts that it has placed its instrument in eleven hospitals in six countries.
The laser has a number of advantages over the ordinary scalpel. One of the principal differences is that the action of the laser is penetrating the flesh seals off the blood vessels and reduces the loss of blood during surgery. Its supporters claim the blood loss can be reduced as much as 90 per cent.
The intense beam of energy also sterilizes as it operates and this reduces the possibilities of infection.
Use of the laser instrument is taught at Beilinson Hospital in Tel Aviv by Dr. Isaak Kaplan, who worked on its development with engineer Uzi Sharon. In this film he demonstrates it capabilities in an operation to remove cancerous tissue from the temple region of a man's skull. Normally this would involve considerable bleeding.
One difficulty in marketing the instrument is that it requires a departure from established surgical practices but the developers hope that installing the machine at various hospitals, will allow doctors to familiarize themselves with its potential and ultimately increase the demand for it.
Already, it's claimed that 500 operations have been conducted with the "Sharplan 791" since it wad developed in 1973. Prior to that, the principal use of lasers in surgery was confined to "welding" detached retinas.
- Copyright Holder: REUTERS
- Copyright Notice: (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2015. Open For Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp
- Usage Terms/Restrictions: None