I hope everyone had a great 4th....time to get back at it.
One of my friends asked me to address those unsightly veins that show up on the face.
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Here is a good example of what I'm talking about. These are from a condition called rosacea that causes inflammation and eventually the larger veins that appear on the cheeks and around the nose. The problem is usually made worse with heat (i.e. working in the yard during summer) or consumption of red wine. It can occur in all ethnic groups but is much more visible in the lighter skinned groups. Rosacea is treated with topical medications, oral medications, and light therapy which will be covered later.
Rosacea can also have a deleterious effect on the color and shape of the nose. Known as "rhinophima", the nose becomes red with acne like lesions that eventually cause the nose to become misshapen. It can also cause very large veins to become visible.
The veins that appear at the base of the nose are very common as we age. Some people have them worse than others of course, but lighter skin tends to allow them to show up more prominently. They can occur with or without rosacea.
Here is another example of a facial vein that sometimes bothers people. This is known as a facial reticular vein. They can occur around the eye and temporal area. They are present in young and old alike.
In some instances, instead of visible veins, just a "redness" is seen. This probably is just early rosacea and should be treated as such.
How do we treat these problems? The treatment depends on what the cause is and how severe the problem has become. With rosacea, we treat it topically and sometimes with low dose antibiotics when it is early and large venous areas are not present yet. Once outbreaks are controlled, the redness usually subsides. If it does not, the next step would be to use Intense Pulsed Light treatments to close the small capillaries that are flushing and causing the skin to turn red. These treatments (also known as IPL) use bright flashes of light of a certain wave length to damage and close the small vessels that are causing the problem. Usually several treatments are required, sometimes up to 5. These treatments will controll the problem for some time after, but usually not permanently, so treatments may be required every few years or so.
For the larger veins, in the cheek, nose, and base of the nasal area, we use the vascular setting of the Cutera 1064 YAG laser. Using a very small spot size, the veins can be closed and they are no longer visible. In some cases, we will use both the laser, and the IPL in combination. This treats the redness that is generalized and the larger veins that are too large. The treatments are generally pretty quick and the discomfort is tolerable. We use numbing cream for most as well as the Zimmer chiller that blows cold air over the treated areas. For larger treatments we will call in Valium if needed.
Reticular veins around the temples or eyes are also treated with the YAG laser. They may be a little sore after treatment for a few weeks until the body resorbs the vein and some bruising is possible though not very common.
The nasal effects of rosacea can be severe if left untreated. The laser is used to control the venous problem and it helps with the sebaceous problem as well. Left alone, the nose can turn into a trunk so treatment is necessary.
All of these treatments are done in the office with little or no sedation. The treatments alone are fairly quick, taking only a few minutes. Usually there is only a mild amount of redness after, though there can be some areas of ulceration or skin slough. These areas usually heal very well. Ideally, you come in and have the treatment done, leave with a little redness, after that resolves, the veins and redness are gone or greatly diminished. As I said before, more than one treatment is usually required and are done 4-6 weeks apart to allow for healing.
So, if any of these things are bothering you, give us a call at 918-786-7780 or 877weight0 toll free. If you have any questions, fill out a contact form and I will try to answer it for you.
I hope this helped some of you understand a very common problem.