Laser therapy of varicosities with the flashlamp-pumped pulsed dye laser

Abstract

The flashlamp-pumped pulsed dye laser with an output wavelength of 585 nm and a pulse duration of 450μm was used to treat 102 areas of blue and red varicosities in the lower limbs of female patients. Varicosities could be divided into two groups, early red varicosities and more developed blue varicosities. Forty-two areas of blue varicosities were treated with a single pulse, and only 20% of these were eliminated. Blue varicosities were then treated in three treatment sessions, 3 weeks apart, and none of them could be occluded. Red varicosities responded better; all of the varicosities treated were occluded in three treatment sessions separated by 3 weeks. The use of two consecutive pulses with only 6.5 Jcm−2 in a single treatment session resulted in only 54% of the varicosities being eliminated. Finally, seven areas of red varicosities were treated in a single treatment with an argon laser at 2 W; only 10–20% of these lesions responded. The pulsed dye laser is therefore of most use in treating red varicosities.