Paul – thanks for the post. I can’t believe the amount of ignorance there is out there. It’s no wonder I throw away those journals! There’s so much B.S. in them.
With respect to the hemostasis issue – you can cause hemostasis with an Er,Cr:YSGG and Er:YAG by turning off the water. The absorption of the light into the water in the tissue will create a superficial heating that will (eventually) stop the bleeding. I rarely attempt this, however, as a diode or an Nd:YAG is far better suited for such a task.
At the ALD meeting, there was a Dr. who did a great poster presentation on how he does crown troughing with the YSGG. My question to him was, “Do you have a diode or Nd:YAG?” He said that he did not. I commented that although it can be done (as his pictures evidenced) there are more appropriate wavelengths for such a purpose. This “one laser for all purposes” stuff just seems silly. But, if it’s the only laser you have…..
Kelly