In the Beam: Veterinary Laser Therapy

This episode is sponsored by INDIBA | K-Laser

On this episode of The Vet Blast Podcast presented by dvm360, host Adam Christman, DVM, MBA, sits down with Ryan McKenzie, DVM, US animal health clinical training manager for Indiba K-Laser USA, to discuss how therapeutic laser, also known as photobiomodulation, is being used across veterinary medicine and where the technology is headed.

Throughout the conversation, McKenzie explains the science behind photobiomodulation, highlights unexpected clinical applications ranging from pancreatitis to feline chronic gingivostomatitis, addresses common misconceptions about return on investment, walks through the role of the veterinary technician in delivering care, and introduces the new K-Laser Giro line—which offers increased power, deeper tissue penetration, and fluence-based dosing—and more.

Below is a partial transcript, edited lightly for clarity.

Adam Christman, DVM, MBA: For those who may be newer to laser therapy, can you give us an overview of what K-Laser is and how it works in the veterinary setting?

Ryan McKenzie, DVM: K-Laser is a therapeutic laser company with offices in Europe and here in the US, headquartered in Denver, Colorado. There's a lot of terminology that gets used interchangeably—low-level laser therapy, high-intensity laser therapy, cold laser therapy—and sometimes those terms are treated as the same thing when they're actually distinct. I like to stick with photobiomodulation, or PBM. It's a mouthful, but when you break it down, "photo" is light, "bio" is living tissue, and "modulation" means exerting an influence. Put it together, and what K-Laser delivers is photobiomodulation—using light therapy to influence living cells. We have veterinary-specific devices that are FDA cleared, as well as separate FDA-cleared human devices.

Christman: We see it used quite a bit for pain management, but what are some of the more advanced or unexpected applications you're seeing in animal health?

McKenzie: The really cool thing is that the focus right now isn't just on musculoskeletal lesions or wound therapy: It's on internal medicine conditions and more outside-the-box thinking. Pancreatitis is a good example. We know how frustrating those acute and chronic cases can be, and laser therapy has really stepped up as another adjunct in a multimodal approach. Feline lower urinary tract disease is another. For those cats, the ability to provide fast pain control and an anti-inflammatory effect in conjunction with traditional therapies is phenomenal.

Christman: Beyond the standard use cases, is there a specific example you can share?

McKenzie: Seeing is believing, and we live in a society of instant gratification. Owners want to see a change. So, one thing I always encourage is taking before-and-after photos. Think of the dog that comes in with a hot spot: We clip the area, do a laser treatment, and just a couple of hours later, you can see the difference. The more chronic conditions where I've seen a tremendous impact are cats with chronic gingivostomatitis. Traditionally, the therapy has been to extract the teeth, but when laser is used as an adjunct, the difference in these cats—who are drooling and can barely eat—has been monumental. And it's flexible: While they're under anesthesia, you can get into the back of the mouth, but you can also treat them awake, through the skin of the muzzle. There's actually a study underway in Europe looking at laser therapy for cats with chronic gingivostomatitis, and I'm really looking forward to those results.

You can listen to the full conversation at the top of this page, or wherever you listen to your podcasts.