Intraoperative clinical use of low-power laser irradiation following surgical treatment of the tethered spinal cord

Based on the authors previous experimental investigations which indicated that low-power laser irradiation has a significant therapeutic effect and treatment potential on the injured nerve tissue, we began using this method in clinical practice. This data represents their first clinical results in the treatment of four patients with tethered spinal cord resulting from fibrous adhesions at the site of previous myelomeningocele and lypomyelomeningocele repair, thickened filum terminale and spinal lipoma. After surgical release of the tethered spinal cord, stable evoked responses were recorded and the conus medullaris was subjected to direct laser irradiation (CW He-Ne laser, 632.8nm, 7Jcm). The authors found that using low-power laser irradiation may improve neuronal metabolism, prevent neuronal degeneration and promote improved spinal cord function and repair.