While our laser experts gave us several different useful tips, the one point they all stressed was this: treat your lasers like a business asset. This not only means performing regular preventative maintenance but also doing your research with sellers to ensure you get what you pay for. Below are a few tips to ensure your lasers give you the best return on investment.

• Hand-me-down. “Take care when handling hand pieces,” says Eric Graham, national sales director of Phase 2 Laser. Dropped and broken hand pieces account for a significant bulk of downtime and expenditures.
  
  
• Know the total cost. Find out beforehand if your laser will require any disposables, such as tips or dye packs. “Some can be difficult and/or expensive to procure,” warns Joseph Wydra, owner of Asher Haley Surgical, Inc.
  
  
• Housekeeping. Two other mistakes that cost customers dearly include filling the reservoir with the wrong type of fluid and failing to keep the lens clear of any debris, according to Graham.
  
  
• Switch it out. Most lasers have an internal cooling system that require flushing and filter changes. “Not switching these out on a routine basis can result in serious damage to the laser cavities, costing many thousands of dollars,” says Douglas Greif, owner of Vital Medical Technologies, LLC.
  
  
• Practice run. Some lasers actually require being turned on and run for a period of time if not being used, according to Wydra. This will ensure the laser is operating correctly when a procedure is scheduled.



• Better safe than sorry. To guard against unscrupulous sellers, Graham advises customers to get a video of the device operating, including the serial number, and ask to pay by escrow, releasing the funds only after delivery and inspection of the device.



• Do your homework. Find out if the company is just a reseller or an actual service provider who would maintain the equipment during the warranty period, advises Wydra. Inquire about the service costs after the warranty period is over.