Efficacy of photocoagulation using a 940-nm diode laser in management of oral vascular lesions: a report of 3 clinical cases

The aim of this study is to evaluate the effectiveness of photocoagulation using a 940 nm diode laser in the management of oral vascular lesions.

Three patients were selected for this study, 1 male and 2 female patients aged 44–52–67, respectively. Inclusion criteria include oral vascular lesion of painless, soft consistency on palpation, and cold with a dark purple color that can be blanched when using a diascopy maneuver causing intralesional ischemia. Other lesions were excluded such as pulsatile vascular lesions (high flow vascular malformation), vascular lesions associated with systemic syndromes, vascular lesions that extended beyond the oral cavity as well as vascular tumors like hemangioma. The treatment was done using EPIC X 940 nm diode laser in a single visit. The laser parameters include power 1.2 W and pulsed emission mode without tip initiation (400 μm), and the tip was placed out of contact and as close as possible to the lesion. The tip was kept moving on the lesion in a rotary movement to avoid any concentrated thermal damage until the lesion started to blanch and shrink. The treatment was done in a single session followed by a follow-up period of 1 week, 2 weeks, and 3 weeks.

After the treatment, no pain was recorded by the patients on VAS, no bleeding, and no discomfort postoperatively. Follow-up after 3 weeks shows that all lesions completely disappeared with excellent healing and without scarring.

According to the result obtained from the study, photocoagulation by diode laser is considered an effective method for the management of oral vascular lesions with many advantages such as no bleeding, no postoperative complications, no scaring, excellent healing, required 1 session to complete the treatment, and more patient acceptance as the procedure will be less invasive compared to other conventional methods. Also, to reach the maximum result without any complications, a correct diagnosis and proper knowledge of laser-tissue interaction are needed.