Hi Laurie,
I have a question about laser.
I was wondering what your recommendations were for lasering a deep decubitus pressure sore with a class IV companion model. A veterinary colleague is treating a Dachshund disc dog that has unfortunately developed this pressure sore on his rear limb post back injury. How often can you laser the wound to get to get it close up and heal ? and do you have a preferred protocol that's different from the companion recommendations for wound care ?
Thank you for your expertise Laurie,
Kind regards
AG
Laser for a pressure sore
Re: Laser for a pressure sore
Hi A!
So given that it’s a wound, I think you still chose to treat it with superficial doses (versus ones that would target deeper).
However, since it is a deep wound, I think you could be justified in treating adjacent to the open wound area itself as a way to target the surrounding tissue and subsequently impact the deeper tissues.
Is it acute or chronic?
So, the research out there would state that you are trying to just get 2 - 4 Joules for wound healing using the traditional class 3b lasers. So with your class 4 laser, you either follow the protocols for superficial wounds OR dial it down to be a 500mW or 1 Watt laser where you can calculate joules (1 J - 1W x 1 second), and proceed accordingly.
When I did the research for a laser presentation I gave a couple of years back, I was given some data sheets that were created in regards to veterinary laser applications.
You can find the presentation and the data sheets here: https://fourleg.com/Secret-Australia
Essentially, various laser manufacturers and experts came together to create these tables for various conditions. There is one for the class 4 lasers… click and scroll down. It has doses for acute & chronic
As well, I had always been led to believe that once a day was in order… however, from experience (having a laser at home), and from hearing how others who board dogs are using it, I think you could use it twice a day.
I guess that sort of sums up my thoughts on it!
I hope this helps. Feel free to ask any clarifying questions if you wish!
Cheers,
Laurie
So given that it’s a wound, I think you still chose to treat it with superficial doses (versus ones that would target deeper).
However, since it is a deep wound, I think you could be justified in treating adjacent to the open wound area itself as a way to target the surrounding tissue and subsequently impact the deeper tissues.
Is it acute or chronic?
So, the research out there would state that you are trying to just get 2 - 4 Joules for wound healing using the traditional class 3b lasers. So with your class 4 laser, you either follow the protocols for superficial wounds OR dial it down to be a 500mW or 1 Watt laser where you can calculate joules (1 J - 1W x 1 second), and proceed accordingly.
When I did the research for a laser presentation I gave a couple of years back, I was given some data sheets that were created in regards to veterinary laser applications.
You can find the presentation and the data sheets here: https://fourleg.com/Secret-Australia
Essentially, various laser manufacturers and experts came together to create these tables for various conditions. There is one for the class 4 lasers… click and scroll down. It has doses for acute & chronic
As well, I had always been led to believe that once a day was in order… however, from experience (having a laser at home), and from hearing how others who board dogs are using it, I think you could use it twice a day.
I guess that sort of sums up my thoughts on it!
I hope this helps. Feel free to ask any clarifying questions if you wish!
Cheers,
Laurie
LAURIE EDGE-HUGHES