A surgical laser scanner having optics that scans a pulsed laser beam onto a target tissue is disclosed. The laser scanner has a lens and a scanning mirror or mirrors located upstream of the lens at a distance substantially equal to the focal length of the lens. The laser beam hits the scanning mirror and is reflected onto the lens in a pattern defined by sequential positions of the scanning mirror. The laser beam is projected onto the target tissue by the lens in a direction parallel to the optical axis of the lens. The projected pattern has a constant size regardless of the distance between the laser scanner and the target tissue.