Stimulated by laser power

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1 Vet Times The website for the veterinary profession Stimulated by laser power Author : anonymous Categories : Business Date : August 1, 2012 LOW-LEVEL LASERS have been used since the 1980s for tissue biostimulation and pain management. In emitting infrared light at targeted tissues and cells, an increase in cell metabolism and tissue regeneration takes place, with additional pain management control benefits of the C-pathway fibres. Latest class IV lasers have improved the speed and depth of penetration for veterinary use, making this a useful adjunctive piece of equipment for medical or post-surgical cases. Darren Partridge, of Molesey Veterinary Centre, owns several branches in and around south-west London and is a convert to the technology of biostimulating lasers. Earlier this year he acquired a KLaser, a bi-phasic device that produces two different wavelengths of laser light, providing a treatment unlike other drugbased or invasive approaches. He says: We mainly use it for treating arthritis, muscular injuries, moist dermatitis, gingivitis and wound healing. The laser delivers energy to both superficial injuries and deep tissues at frequencies that increase blood flow to the area and stimulate a specific cytokinase, accelerating tissue regeneration by increasing cell metabolism. The laser also can be effective in reducing wound contamination by anaerobic micro-organisms. The K-Laser is not like a surgical cutting laser, which Darren also uses. Instead, Darren says: The K-Laser is used for localised area treatment and is effectively an infrared wavelength, biostimulating device. All the treatments are pre-programmed for safety and efficacy and they can be continuously updated by online download. You just programme in the animal, its weight, the colour of its coat and the area to be treated and the K-Laser states how long the treatment will be. The device gives both an audible and visual indication of the therapy progress. Darren likes the fact it s a small, handheld batterypowered device that only weighs a couple of kilos. The laser probe is continually moved over the area of damage or pain. The infrared photon energy delivered at maximum settings would not cause tissue damage even if held static for long periods, he says. 1/9

2 For each animal Darren normally recommends a programme that involves two sessions a week for three weeks. So far, I m pretty impressed with it, says Darren. I ve had it three to four months now and it s used on average six times a day, which is quite heavy use compared to, say, the ultrasound unit or even the surgical laser. The K-Laser is both a clinically well-used tool and a good revenue generator. Darren found that in 80 per cent of cases there was a marked improvement in the patient (and 40 per cent of that number could come off nonsteroidal medication altogether). But 20 per cent of those treated saw no change and Darren says that may possibly be down to case selection. Any losses in NSAID revenue were more than compensated with increased footfall, client relations and over-the-counter sales. The numbers add up too. Darren is paying around 350 plus VAT per month on a fiveyear lease and is charging clients 25 per session irrespective of number of joints treated in the session. At six treatments a day over an average of 20 working days a month that s not a bad return on investment and I m not forcing it down people s throats: we are phasing in its use in different modes and it has become a standard piece of our kit, he says. According to Darren, the K-Laser was originally developed for the Russian cosmonaut programme, but then the Americans got hold of it. He heard about K-Laser through a friend and was very sceptical, but the more I looked into it the more I liked it and I m looking at putting it in my other practices. In a hospital Shaun Smith is a certificate holder in small animal surgery focusing on orthopaedics at Northlands Veterinary Hospital in Northamptonshire and he uses K-Laser for orthopaedic and surgical cases. We use it on the old fat Labradors that are rickety on their hips or elbows, on tears and lumbarsacral disease, and one of my colleagues has been doing quite a lot of work on cats with gingivitis and about 60 per cent or 70 per cent of them are responding very well, Shaun says. One of the things I m seeing a big difference with is when I use it in the perioperative period and it seems to make a difference to how fast the skin heals and how quickly the patient improves on that limb. Shaun likes the set protocols the manufacturer has built into the laser unit. They give you diagrams showing how to use it on the hips, lower back, head or eyes, for example. If you are doing a knee, you apply it up and down and all round the knee, 360 degrees, then side to side around it 360 degrees, Shaun adds. The K-Laser has different settings for (say) a traumatic infected wound and an abscess or chronic ear infections and every month the company comes out with new protocols. Shaun says: When we first got it there was nothing for cystitis, but two months later we were able to download a 2/9

3 suitable protocol for that and they are developing new ones as time goes on. Shaun does wonder how the technology works. The only thing I cannot make sense of is how it decreases pain. If you have nerves in the area of healing then it surely would make them fire more. My best case to date is a seven-year-old chocolate Labrador that has bilateral elbow and hip dysplasia. With other treatments it was doing okay, stiff in the mornings, afternoons and after running, Shaun reports. We have been lasering it for four or five months and it is a completely different dog. His practice manager alerted Shaun to the existence of K-Laser after seeing it at a BVNA presentation. It seems to be when I looked online that more practices than not had one in the US, but it is not so popular over here. I think if people see the benefits of it then it will take off here too, Shaun says. The K-Laser is designed to last, according to Shaun. We are sent s when software upgrades are available. We download them to a USB dongle and then plug it into the back of the machine, which upgrades itself automatically. The light-producing diodes and main laser case have a lifetime warranty. The fibre optics and other mechanical connections have two-year warranty covering any defects or damage. Clearly the K-Laser is a new concept and Shaun has displays and banners up, it is featured on the practice website and he has put ads in the local paper. I was a bit pessimistic as to how well it would be accepted by the clients, considering that the machine cost about 12,000 and the amount we would have to charge per session to get the money back. The hospital charges between 20 to 25 per session. Shaun says: The clincher is when you say the word laser, as clients think it is modern technology that will cost thousands of pounds. When you tell them it is 20 most go for it. It is certainly a good way to promote the practice and few surgeries in the UK have that capability, Shaun concludes. 3/9

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7 The K-Laser in action. 7/9

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9 Darren Partridge. 9/9 Powered by TCPDF (