Emergency War Surgery NATO Handbook: Part IV: Regional Wounds and Injuries: Chapter XXV: Laser Injury of the Eye

Specific Lasers

United States Department of Defense

1. Carbon Dioxide Laser. The CO₂ laser, with a wavelength of 10.6 microns, is not visible. It is highly absorbed by water, glass, plastics, all biological tissues (cornea and skin), most organic substances, and all fabrics. A high-energy, continuous wave CO₂ laser will in one second char skin, destroy the cornea, opacify optical lenses, shatter glass, craze windshields, incinerate uniforms, an ignite fuels six kilometers distant from the source of emission. A similar laser operating in a pulsed mode can, in a single nanosecond pulse, ablate the corneal epithelial surface. These effects, plus the fact that this laser is not visible, can produce devastating effects on troop morale and combat effectiveness.

2. Noedymium:YAG (Nd:YAG) Laser. This laser, with a wavelength of 1064 nm, operates near the infrared wavelength spectrum. This wavelength is not visible. It is employed most commonly in the pulsed mode, producing retinal tears and hemorrhage within the retina and vitreous, and later retinal detachment and necrosis.

3. Lasers in the Visible Spectrum. The principal lasers employed in a military setting in this category are the pulsed ruby (red, wavelength 694 nm), the frequency doubled Nd:YAG (green, wavelength 532 nm), and the continuous wave argon (blue-green, wavelength 514 nm). They all produce retinal thermal burns. The presence of flash blindness, retinal burns, and retinal vitreous hemorrhage may indicate exposure to pulsed laser.

4. Ultraviolet. Lasers operating in this region of the spectrum are currently generally encountered in a laboratory setting. Their biological effect is one of inducing a photochemical reaction. However, a pulsed ultraviolet laser may produce tissue burns. The cornea and the skin are the organs most affected.

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Operational Medicine 2001

Health Care in Military Settings

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