Our paper on dual-laser therapy in sea turtle rehabilitation has been accepted for presentation at the Zoo and Wildlife Health Conference in Dublin this year.
We’ll present Knuckles’ case, a sea turtle with a severe shell fracture likely caused by a boat strike, where combined laser therapy supported substantially faster healing compared to conventional methods. This innovative approach — combining photobiomodulation and CO₂ laser therapy — is scarcely documented in reptiles, with only one prior report and none describing CO₂ laser use.

Knuckles’ wound was fully cleared of necrotic tissue, with strong bone hardening and early fracture consolidation, reducing his rehabilitation time and bringing him closer to release in support of sea turtle conservation.
We sincerely thank Luca Giannoni, DVM, PhD, from the Italian company El.En. for generously donating the surgical laser, and Maja Lukač, DVM, PhD, veterinary specialist in Wildlife Population Health, for administering the laser therapy during Knuckles’ treatment.