Mechanisms for soft‐tissue ablation and the development of alternative medical lasers based on investigations with mid‐infrared free‐electron lasers

Experimental evidence indicating the potential biomedical advantages of using a Mark‐III Free‐Electron Laser (FEL) for the ablation of soft tissue were first reported in 1994. Research progress since that time is reviewed, including: 1) successful human surgery using the Mark‐III FEL; 2) advances in understanding the physical mechanism for infrared tissue ablation and how these mechanistic features correlate with the preferential ablative properties; 3) the pursuit of table‐top, nanosecond‐pulsed laser technology that mimics the preferential ablation properties of the Mark‐III FEL with the aim of improving clinical acceptance of mid‐infrared laser ablation of soft tissue; and 4) current research challenges.