Make no mistake, Cautery is different from lasers

There are many treatment procedures using cautery. This term is often considered similar to laser, but different. For more details, see the following review. The term cautery comes from Latin, which means clumping or destruction of tissue. Cautery procedure has actually been done since several years before Christ, to cut or destroy body tissue, and stop bleeding. In ancient times, cautery was carried out using hot objects, such as metals heated with hot coals or certain chemicals. Now, cautery is carried out by electric power (eletrocautery).

Mechanism of Cautery in the Medical Field

In eletrocautery, an electric current is passed through a high-resistance electrode wire. These electrodes will produce heat that can be attached to body tissues. In the medical field, cautery with electricity is usually used to:

• Minor surgery on the skin, such as removing warts, skin tags, seborrheic keratosis, molluscum contagiosum, and syringoma.
• Dry the tissue (electrodessication).
• Blood clotting (electrocoagulation).
• Cut tissue (electrosection). For example, to remove tumors, such as Kaposi's sarcoma.
• As a method for laser circumcision.

In addition to electricity, cautery can also be performed with silver nitrate chemicals. Cautery with silver nitrate is usually used to treat thrush or nosebleeds. Not only silver nitrate, trichloroacetic acid chemicals can also be used for cautery procedures, namely to treat xanthelasma and ruptured eardrums.

Cautery is not the same as a laser

Many people mistakenly say that circumcision or treatment of small nodules on the face and neck is done by laser, when in fact what is used is cautery. In medical use, cautery and laser do have some similarities, but the principle works differently. Laser is a continuation of light amplification by stimulated emission of radiation, which is light that is focused at one point, has a certain wavelength, and has high intensity. The laser beam is strong enough and can be used to cut, burn, or damage body tissue. This beam has high accuracy, so it can handle certain tissues without damaging the surrounding tissue. In the medical world, laser light is usually used to:

• Certain cosmetic surgery procedures or procedures, such as plastic surgery, removing tattoos, scars, stretch marks, wrinkles, birthmarks, moles, and solar keratosis or actinic keratosis.
• Remove hair on the body.
• Medical procedures on the eye, such as LASIK, cataract surgery, and corneal and retinal surgery.
• Dental procedures, such as teeth whitening and oral surgery.
• Treat varicose veins and stop bleeding.
• Major operations, such as removal of tumors, kidney stones, to enlargement of breast and prostate tissue.
• Treat nerve disorders that cause postoperative pain.
• Deadly tumor or cancer cells in certain body parts.

So, the basic difference between cautery and laser is the way it works. In addition, side effects on the tissue caused by cautery are greater than lasers. If you want to undergo a procedure that uses cautery or laser light, you should first ask your doctor clearly about how the tool works, its benefits, and the risks.