Lasers in the surgical treatment of canine prostatic neoplasia and selected tumours of the male reproductive system

Light-based technologies are applied in various fields of medicine: for example optical diagnostics, light-activated therapy and surgery. Although light-based surgical procedures had hardly been a novelty, the revolutionizing moment for surgery came with the first use of light to cut tissue. Nowadays, surgical lasers are routinely used across numerous medical specialties, including gynaecology and urology. They are a part of the surgical treatment of benign prostatic hyperplasia, prostate carcinoma, penis carcinoma, genital skin lesions and orchidectomy. While in human urology lasers continue to establish their position as one of the standard surgical tools, veterinary patients are rarely treated with what here is still considered a technical innovation. However, through research on laser treatment of the prostate hyperplasia conducted on a canine model, veterinary medicine has gained a massive portion of data. It may prove beneficial for our clinical patients. In this review, we introduce the very principles of laser surgery as well as its current and future applications in oncologic surgery of the canine prostate gland and the male reproductive system.