Patient Burned When Laser Sets Sheet Afire

A patient who had just undergone surgery for a brain tumor was burned when a laser beam that was supposed to have been turned off set fire to a sheet, a hospital spokesman said.

The patient, Genevieve Arico, 55, was reported in satisfactory condition Friday, recuperating from the burns and the surgery.

Officials at New York University Medical Center said the pencil-like laser instrument used during the surgery Thursday should have been turned off, and that an investigation would seek to determine why it was on and whether new procedures should be established for handling the instrument.