Incidental Ignition of a Pulsed Dye Laser Fiber During Laryngomicrosurgery: A Case Report

ABSTRACT

Surgical fires require an ignition source, oxidizer, and fuel. The pulsed dye laser (PDL) has been shown to be effective in the treatment of hypertrophic scars and keloids in dermatology. With the increasing number of applications of CO2, laser as ignition source has been associated with operating room fires in the otorhinolaryngologic field. There have been many case reports on PDL-induced fires in dermatology, but until now, there were no reports in the larynx. We describe a 57-year-old patient diagnosed with laryngeal hyperkeratosis treated by PDL-assisted laryngomicrosurgery. In this case, we experienced incidental PDL tip flaring during pulsed dye laser vaporization.