The objective was to detail the available laser sources for endourological applications, and to describe their technologies.
A non-systematic literature review was conducted without time restriction using the PubMed/Medline, Scopus, and Cochrane databases, searching for publications related to the different laser sources and their technological principles. A narrative synthesis is presented.
Both continuous and pulsed lasers are available in endourology. Holmium:YAG (Ho:YAG), Thulium Fiber Laser (TFL), and pulsed-Thulium:YAG (p-Tm:YAG) are the most frequently used pulsed lasers. Ho:YAG is a solid-state laser with a YAG cavity doped with holmium ions and excited by a flashlamp, with a maximum average power (MAP) of 30W. "High-Power"-Ho:YAG lasers (>30W), allowing "High-Frequencies" (>30Hz), require several YAG cavities. TFL is a solid-state fiber laser, doped with thulium ions, and excited by laser diodes, allowing a 60W-MAP and ≤2000Hz frequencies. p-Tm:YAG represents a compromise between Ho:YAG and TFL: a solid-state YAG laser excited by laser diodes, enabling a 100W MAP in a single cavity. The Greenlight™ laser is a Neodymium:YAG laser with second-harmonic generation. While TFL can emit in continuous or pulsed modes, continuous Tm:YAG was mainly derived from a technology combining it with pulsed Ho:YAG. Diode lasers are currently under development and not widely adopted.
Lasers are currently essential in endourology. Pulsed lasers (Ho:YAG, TFL, and p-Tm:YAG) on the one hand, and continuous lasers (KTP, TFL, and Tm:YAG) on the other, are the most frequently used technologies.
The French journal of urology. 2025 Nov [Epub]
Frédéric Panthier, Steeve Doizi, Laurent Berthe, Olivier Traxer, Nadia Abid, Christophe Almeras
Endolase Lab, GRC 20-Sorbonne University - PIMM Lab Arts et Métiers Paris Tech, 75020 Paris, France; Service d'Urologie, Hôpital Tenon, Sorbonne Université, Assistance Publique-Hôpitaux de Paris, 75020 Paris, France; PIMM, UMR 8006 CNRS-Arts et Métiers ParisTech, 151, boulevard de l'Hôpital, 75013 Paris, France; Endourology Technology Section of European Association of Urology (EAU), Arnhem, Netherlands; Progressive Endourological Association for Research and Leading Solutions (PEARLS), Paris, France. Electronic address: ., Endolase Lab, GRC 20-Sorbonne University - PIMM Lab Arts et Métiers Paris Tech, 75020 Paris, France; Service d'Urologie, Hôpital Tenon, Sorbonne Université, Assistance Publique-Hôpitaux de Paris, 75020 Paris, France; PIMM, UMR 8006 CNRS-Arts et Métiers ParisTech, 151, boulevard de l'Hôpital, 75013 Paris, France; Endourology Technology Section of European Association of Urology (EAU), Arnhem, Netherlands; Progressive Endourological Association for Research and Leading Solutions (PEARLS), Paris, France., Endolase Lab, GRC 20-Sorbonne University - PIMM Lab Arts et Métiers Paris Tech, 75020 Paris, France; Service d'Urologie, Hôpital Tenon, Sorbonne Université, Assistance Publique-Hôpitaux de Paris, 75020 Paris, France; PIMM, UMR 8006 CNRS-Arts et Métiers ParisTech, 151, boulevard de l'Hôpital, 75013 Paris, France., Department of Urology and Transplant Surgery, Édouard-Herriot Hospital, Lyon, France., Department of Urology, La Croix du Sud Clinic-RGDS, UroSud, 52, bis chemin de Ribaute, boîte 301, 31130 Quint-Fonsegrives, France.