Biolase laser receives FDA OK for first nondental surgery

Dental laser maker Biolase Inc.’s WaterLase iPlus all-tissue laser has been cleared by the FDA for soft-tissue use in orthopedic and podiatric surgery. This is the first nondental clearance for its flagship product.

Biolase Chairman and CEO Federico Pignatelli said the approval expands the product into two markets, each with tremendous potential. “Just the top 10 orthopedic surgical soft-tissue procedures, for example, offer a $2.6 billion market opportunity for our WaterLase technology.”

The iPlus was cleared for incision, excision, resection, ablation, vaporization, coagulation and hemostasis, with or without an arthroscope, in contact and noncontact with tissue, in orthopedic and podiatric surgery, including soft and cartilaginous tissue in small and large joints.