Efficacy of Diode Laser in Excisional Biopsy of Soft Tissue Lesions in Oral Cavity and Assessment of Their Wound Healing – A Prospective Clinical Study

Abstract

Background: Laser light is used for diagnostic and therapeutic purposes. Diode lasers are compact, portable, and relatively affordable. Biopsies of oral soft tissue lesions can be done using scalpel, electrocautery, and laser. Aim: To assess and evaluate the wound healing and pain following diode laser excision of oral soft tissue lesions along with histopathological analysis. Methodology: This is a prospective clinical observational study involving 50 patients above 18 years with oral soft tissue lesions indicated for excisional biopsy. Excision was performed using 980 nm diode laser set at 3W power with the pulsed mode using a 300 μm fiber optic tip under local anesthesia. Wound healing and subjective pain were evaluated on the 1st, 3rd, and 7th days and 1 month postoperatively. Histopathological findings of excised specimens were also recorded. Results: Statistical analysis showed postoperative wound healing in different time intervals was highly significant (P > 0.001) with complete epithelization (100%) observed in all the lesions. There was very minimal pain, and the VAS score was also highly statistically significant (P < 0.001) on the follow-up days. Histopathologically, 4% charring and 12% artifacts were only evident. Conclusion: From the observation made from our study, we conclude that 980 nm diode laser can be safely and efficaciously used in oral biopsies without postoperative complications.

Keywords

• 980 nm
• dental laser
• diode laser
• oral soft tissue lesions
• soft tissue laser
• wound healing