Today, for the final installment on lasers, we are going to discuss the use of lasers to treat veins on the face, legs and elsewhere.
First, leg veins. Superficial or spider veins occur very frequently on the legs. As I have discussed before, when the areas are large, I prefer injections to the laser because I can cover much more ground and cause less dicomfort. For small areas, however, the laser is very convenient and in most cases works very well.
The veins in this picture are perfect....why?? Remember that laser light is attracted to pigment. The darker the pigment, when the laser light hits it, heat is generated, the small vein is injured, the flow stops and the vein is gone. After lasering the vein it turns red and forms a clot that slowly dissolves. I use the Cutera 1064 laser for the darker veins. For veins that have a lighter and more red pigment we use the KTP or 536 wavelength laser.
The second area that is most commonly complained about is the face. Adults of European descent commonly develope visible veins around the base of the nose that are unsightly. Those with Rosacea get veins that are visible on nose, at the base of the nose, and nearly anywhere else on the face.
The nasal areas we treat with the laser to close the veins. For Rosacea, it may require several different methods, even systemic medications on some cases.
The results we get are very good. In most cases, new areas will arise and will require repeat treatments from time to time we call maintenance.
A third condition that is vascular and can be treated with laser are hemangiomas.
These areas occur in the young and old and anywhere on the body. They can be very small. They can also be very large. Most of these can be closed with the laser. Larger ones may require several treatments. They turn dark, dry up, and are usually gone.
There are other uses for lasers but that about covers the more common things and I'm worn out with it. We have covered how lasers work, hair removal, skin rejeuvenation, abnormal coloration, and vascular lesions....we treat them all. Something new next week.
Don't forget our specials at Total Body Surgical. We have a few surgical spots left before the first of the year then the summer countdown begins....believe it or not.