The advent of laser therapies in dermatology and urology: Underlying mechanisms, recent trends and future directions

Following their applications in cardiology, ophthalmology and dentistry among others, the advent of lasers in dermatology and urology had become the success story of the past decade. Laser-assisted treatments in dermatology and urology are mainly based on the laser-induced tissue injury/coagulation and/or ablation, depending upon the desirable clinical endpoint. In this review, we discussed the underlying mechanisms of the laser induced tissue ablation. In any medical laser application, the controlled thermal injury and coagulation, and the extent of ablation, if required, are critical. The laser thermal mechanism of injury is intricately related to the selective absorption of light and its exposure duration, similarly to the laser induced ablation. The laser ablation mechanisms were categorized into four different categories (the photo-thermally induced ablation, the photo-mechanically induced ablation, the plasma induced ablation and the photoablation) and their fundamentals are herein described. The brief history of laser treatment modality in dermatology and urology are summarized.