Surgical treatment of oral lymphangiomas with CO2 laser: report of two uncommon cases

Abstract

This paper reports the treatment of oral lymphangiomas with carbon dioxide CO2 Laser. Lymphangiomas are rare congenital lymphatic malformations. These lesions are most frequently diagnosed during childhood, are most commonly located in the head and neck region, and are extremely rare in the oral cavity. Oral lymphangiomas are of complex treatment due to the difficulty in performing a complete excision. CO2 laser is the most often used laser in the oral cavity due to its affinity with water and high absorption by the oral mucosa. Several benefits of the use of CO2 laser have been reported for surgical oral procedures. The cases reported herein were biopsy-proven lymphangiomas of the oral cavity. The surgical procedures were carried out under local anesthesia and a focused CO2 laser beam (l10.600 nm, f ~2 mm, CW/RSP) was used. At the end of the surgery, the laser beam was used on a defocused mode to promote better hemostasis. Neither sutures nor dressings were used after surgery. No medication and only mouthwashes were prescribed to all patients on the postoperative period. There were no postsurgical complaints from the patients and no relapses of the conditions were observed after follow-up periods of 12 and 18 months. The use of CO2 laser was practical, easy to carry out and effective on the treatment of oral lymphangiomas, with no lesion recurrence.