Treatment of leg telangiectasias using a long-pulse frequency-doubled neodymium:YAG laser at 532 nm.

Abstract

At the present time a large variety of vascular lesion lasers are available for the treatment of both congenital and acquired disorders of blood vessels. Although most vascular lesions lasers are variably effective in the treatment of facial telangiectasias, port-wine stains, hemangiomas, and other vascular anomalies, their use in the treatment of leg veins has been disappointing. Histologic, anatomic, and other variables have been associated with a poor response of leg veins to currently available vascular lesion lasers. This study examines the use of a new long pulse frequency-doubled Neodymium (Nd):YAG laser emitting radiation at 532 nm for the treatment of leg veins. Fifty patients with leg telangiectasias of varying diameters were treated using a variable pulse width frequency doubled Nd:YAG laser. This laser delivers energy through a novel water-cooled chill tip, which appears to limit epidermal damage during laser treatment. Sixty-two treatment sites were evaluated in 50 patients. Seventy-three percent of patients had greater than 50% improvement after one treatment. Eight-three percent were graded with clearances of better than 50% after two treatments, with 63% showing greater than 75% improvement. The VersaPulse variable pulse width laser appears to be an effective modality for the treatment of leg telangiectasias. The relative lack of patient discomfort combined with a high degree of patient satisfaction may indicate a fairly high level of patient acceptance of this new form of therapy for the treatment of leg telangiectasias.