How many fibromas do we "watch" because we aren't so sure the cure is any better than the problem? Having a fibroma removed with a 15 blade is not a treatment that patients readily volunteer for. The traditional approach requires local anesthetic and the risks that go along with it such as bleeding, soreness, and occasionally, sutures.
I've been using Solea for about a year now and I can confidently look at a patient and say there is virtually no downside to removing the fibroma. We almost always do these without local anesthetic and they are completed in less than 90 seconds with no bleeding or sutures. The above patient was at the office for a limited exam. His chief concerns were a bombed out wisdom tooth, #16, and the fibroma on the tip of his tongue. I placed topical on his tongue and topical on buccal of #16. While #16 was getting numb, I quickly excised the large fibroma using the following settings: 0.5mm spot size, governor 80%, 20% mist. The first 20-30 seconds I limited the power to 40% (using the variable speed foot petal) in order to gauge the patients response. I eventually ramped the power to 70+% power in order to quickly finish the excision.
I have found that the topical is primarily helpful for grabbing the lesion with the cotton pliers. As you can see from the video above, the entire procedure took 90 seconds to complete and there was no bleeding. I was then able to extract #16 and send the patient on his way.
Solea makes it possible for me to do simple procedures like this in a moments notice or at the end of hygiene visits. Patients are very appreciative and thankful.
Comments