Influence of neodymium laser radiation on the frequency of recurrence and continued growth of extramedullary tumors

Objective. To assess the effect of neodymium laser radiation on the recurrence rate and continued growth of primary extramedullary tumors on the basis of clinical data obtained in the long-term follow-up period in operated patients with extramedullary tumors.Material and Methods. The long-term results of surgical treatment of two groups of patients (n = 412) with primary extramedullary tumors operated on from 1998 to 2014 were studied and systematized. Patients of comparison group (n = 277; 67.2 %) underwent removal of tumors using standard microsurgical techniques, and the neoplasms in patients of the study group (n = 135; 32.8 %) were removed with additionally used neodymium (Nd:YAG) laser.Results. The use of the developed laser technologies for the resection of extramedullary intracanal primary tumors made it possible to reliably reduce the relative number of recurrence and continued growth from 11.1 % to 1.2% compared with patients treated with standard surgery methods. The proportion of recurrences was 3.5 %, all of them were detected only in the group with the classical technique of tumor resection (p <0.01).Conclusion. The use of a neodymium laser as an additional technology to the classical microsurgical resection of extramedullary tumors is effective for the prevention of their recurrence and continued growth.