Laserscope Receives Order for One-Hundredth Aura Laser System; Physicians are Pleased with Product's Treatment of Vascular Lesions.

SAN JOSE, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Aug. 21, 1996--Laserscope (NASDAQ:LSCP) said today that it has received its one-hundredth Aura Laser System order.

Aura, a competitively-priced, desktop-sized laser, was commercialized by Laserscope in December 1995 for office-based procedures in dermatology, aesthetic surgery, ENT, urology and gynecology.

"The one-hundredth order is an important company milestone," said Robert V. McCormick, Laserscope president and CEO, "and the rate at which Aura sales are growing is commendable. Physicians report being very pleased with the system, particularly its patented StarPulse technology."

"StarPulse expands Aura's range of capabilities," explained McCormick. "StarPulse is microprocessor-based technology which can convert, via a simple dial setting, the system's continuous wave operation to a fully-variable, pulsing mode."

"In continuous wave mode," said McCormick, "Aura is ideal for a broad variety of surgical applications. In its StarPulse mode, Aura is able to effectively treat vascular lesions, including leg veins."

"Compared to competitive systems I've evaluated, the Laserscope product is more reliable due to its solid-state design. It's considerably less expensive in initial price as well as in anticipated future maintenance costs," said Chris Dannaker, M.D., of the Carmel Hill Professional Center in Monterey, Calif. "It's smaller in size and lighter in weight than competitive systems. But, even more important, the results I am seeing are superior to other leg vein treatments."

StarPulse allows physicians to deliver fully-variable bursts of laser energy at pulse widths in the 1 to 50 millisecond range. This allows precise matching of the laser's pulse width with the thermal relaxation times of various vascular lesions, making it an effective vascular treatment.

"Why buy a bulky, complicated, competitive system at two-to-three times the cost just to treat leg veins," said Henry Pearce, M.D., a vascular surgeon in Edmond, Okla. "The Aura laser is easier to use, weighs only 60 pounds, works on ordinary electrical service, and offers a variety of adjunct surgical applications."

Michael I. Kulick, M.D., a plastic surgeon in San Francisco, said, "The Aura is not only effective in eradicating smaller leg veins and various skin lesions, it is also ideal for endoscopic brow lifts and surgical procedures such as face lifts and blepharoplasties."

"When treating vascular lesions," explained Timothy J. Rosio, M.D., director of the Epstein PhotoMedicine Institute, Marshfield, Wisc., "the physician is seeking the best combination of wavelength intensity and exposure time for the target blood vessel. The new Laserscope technology provides exposure times between 1 to 50 milliseconds and the power that we've needed, features which many other systems on the market have not matched."

"StarPulse technology may significantly reduce the side effects and cosmetic damage associated with other leg vein treatments," said Oscar Hevia, M.D., of the Cosmetic Dermatology & Laser Surgery Center in Tallahassee, Fla. "Under ideal conditions, small leg veins treated with StarPulse are selectively fibrosed without affecting adjacent tissue or collagen."

"Without question," said Dr. Hevia, "StarPulse is an excellent technology for treating smaller, spider-like leg veins. The clinical outcomes and basic economics are very good."

"The acceptance, performance, versatility and value of the Aura with StarPulse is enabling Laserscope to make important initial inroads into the growing office market," concluded McCormick.

Laserscope said that other skin conditions that can be treated effectively with StarPulse include birth marks and facial spider veins, vascular malformations such as hemangiomas, in addition to benign lesions such as brown sun spots, liver spots, skin tags, warts and moles.

Aura can also be used for surgical procedures in ENT, urology, gynecology and aesthetics. ENT procedures include functional endoscopic sinus surgery, turbinectomy, tonsillectomy, stapedotomy, laryngeal surgery and laser-assisted uvulopalatoplasty (snoring).

Urologic procedures include chronic urethral syndrome, an often misdiagnosed bladder infection in women, as well as condyloma and urethral strictures. Aesthetic surgery procedures include endoscopic blepharoplasty, rhinoplasty and rhytidectomy.

Laserscope designs, manufactures, sells and services an advanced line of medical laser systems and energy delivery devices for the office, outpatient surgical center and hospital markets. On April 24, 1996, Laserscope announced that it signed a definitive agreement to acquire Heraeus Surgical Inc. Heraeus Surgical manufactures LaserSonics CO2 lasers, a product line which has complementary applications in other areas of the aesthetics and dermatology markets.

Statements in this announcement about future results are preliminary and based on partial information and management assumptions. Except for the historical information presented, the matters discussed in this news release are forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties, including continued acceptance of new products in new markets, the impact of competitive technologies, products and pricing, the completion of the aforementioned acquisition, the effect and timing of relevant regulatory approvals, and the other risks detailed from time to time in the company's public disclosure filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Copies of the most recent Forms 10K and 10Q are available upon request from Laserscope's Investor Relations Department.

CONTACT: Laserscope

Richard Wood, 408/943-0636 (IR/Media)

Dennis LaLumandiere, 408/943-0636 (Financial)