A good example of this is Laser Angioplasty, the unblocking of diseased blood vessels with the laser. When I was conducting research into this topic nearly ten years ago I gave an interview for a weekly magazine distributed in the UK. As a result of this interview I received communications from ten patients who felt that laser angioplasty might help them. Not one of these patients was referred by a physician, and not one of them was suitable for the treatment.

It is fair to say that lasers are at their best in medicine when no other treatment is available. Good examples of such procedures are laser surgery to the back of the eye, and laser treatment of birthmarks and tattoos

Members of the British Medical Laser Association are engaged in scientific research aimed at helping the public by determining which conditions do and which conditions do not respond to laser treatment in a way which is better than standard treatment.

Information posted on these pages, and in the pages of the journal "Lasers in Medical Science', is primarily aimed at physicians involved in such research.

If you have a condition which you think might benefit from laser treatment, the correct course of action is to visit your general practitioner who will be able to refer you to a local specialist who, even if he is not a laser researcher, will know whether or not laser therapy will benefit you. Do not try to contact a laser research physician direct without such advice. In circumstances where you are unable to get such advice for whatever reason, contact the BMLA.

It is especially important not to respond to advertisements for laser treatment seen in the press, without first consulting your physician.

Arthur Schawlow received the 1981 Nobel Prize in Physics for his part in inventing the laser