[Experience with the use of surgical lasers for the treatment of patients with upper respiratory tract and ear diseases].

The objective of this study was to analyse the efficiency and safety of the use of a holmium- YAG laser (wave length 2.09 mcm) and an erbium-activated glass-based fiber laser scalpel (wave length 1.56 mcm) in ENT-surgery. Priority methods for the surgical intervention in the nasal cavity, paranasal sinuses, and middle ear were developed to treat patients with distorted nasal septa, vasomotor rhinitis, polypous rhinosinusitis, Eustachian tube dysfunction, and various forms of chronic suppurative otitis media. Long-term observations demonstrated fairly good stability of beneficial outcomes of the treatment with the above methods in the majority of the patients. It is concluded that surgical technologies with the use of modern medical lasers provide extensive possibilities for a great variety of interventions in patients with upper respiratory tract and ear diseases.