NO ONE should be allowed to use or operate a laser
without having attended a wavelength and specialty-specific workshop or having
had appropriate training during residency.
Lasers are utilized only by individuals who have been
credentialed for the use of specific types of lasers. The individual MAY NOT
utilize laser technology for purposes and scenarios for which she/he does not
have active privileges and appropriate training and experience.
Individuals are not exposed to the useful active laser
beam except for healing arts purposes and only when such exposure is
authorized by a properly credentialed individual.
The clinician (attending) must be a diplomat of or be
admissible to a specialty Board such as the American Board of Surgery;
Dermatology, Orthopaedics; Otolaryngology; Ophthalmology; Urology; Plastic Surgery;
Cardiovascular Surgery; Neurosurgery; or other medical specialty.
The clinician must have been trained to use laser(s) in
a recognized and approved residency program or must have obtained training
through an appropriate CME course. The course must include laser physics,
safety and principles of laser use, discussion and demonstration of surgical
lasers, and hands-on laboratory training with lasers. The user of the laser
must be cognizant of the safety hazards of lasers.
The clinician should learn the procedure and become
comfortable with it after having successfully accomplishing it using so-called
“conventional” devices prior to attempting it with laser technologies. The
clinician should practice with the laser devices as much as possible prior to
using them clinically.
Surgeons using a laser have the responsibility to know
how to use the laser properly. The surgeon will assume responsibility for
selecting proper power levels and the appropriate lens and/or delivery systems
(e.g. fibers, waveguides, microscopes, etc.) for each procedure. The clinician
should have the ability to assemble and troubleshoot the instrumentation.
The laser will be placed on standby in an effort to
avoid accidental discharging of the laser when the unit is not is use. The
laser shall be turned off when the laser is left unattended for a substantial
period of time.
All persons, present in areas where a potential
exposure to direct or reflected laser light greater than 0.005 watts (5
milliwatts) exists, shall be provided with wavelength specific anti-laser eye
protection. All protective goggles shall bear a label identifying the laser
for which use is intended.
Areas in which lasers are used shall be posted with
standard laser warning signs. During the time the laser is “on” or on
“standby”, all doors and pass-thru cupboards must be securely closed.
Approved by the Board of Directors
American Society for Laser Medicine and Surgery
April 6, 2006
