To the Editor.—
I read with interest the article in the May 1985 Archives by Lane et al.1 In it they state that their results with pulsed ultraviolet lasers are in "sharp contrast to those obtained with infrared and visible wavelengths characteristic of lasers now used in medical and surgical applications. Such lasers either remove material or destroy tissue by a photothermal process, with varying degrees of thermal damage occurring in the surrounding tissue, depending on the laser fluence, wavelength, and/or pulse duration."I would like to report the use of a low-power (4-W) infrared carbon dioxide laser (Bioquantum Technologies, Houston, Model 7600 Microsurgical Carbon Dioxide Laser System) in vivo on guinea pig skin. The effects of this laser have been reported on blood vessels.2 In research using 0.15 W/sq cm with a focused 125-μm spot size continuously applied in a sweeping motion across anesthetized shaved skin