In the early days of lasers it came as a surprise that these tools of light could be used in the science of medicine, since no one envisioned that they might be able to heal or otherwise improve people's physical well-being. But doctors and medical researchers quickly began to see the possibilities, and the number of uses for medical lasers multiplied over the years. Among other applications, these include cutting into tissue in surgical procedures; reshaping the cornea of the eye to improve sight; cleaning clogged arteries; burning away cavities and whitening the teeth; removing unwanted hair, wrinkles, birthmarks, and freckles; and reshaping the face in plastic surgery procedures.

The Advent of the "Laser Scalpel"

Early experimenters with medical lasers pointed out that there are surgical operations that are difficult to perform with the conventional scalpel and that a laser beam might...