No anesthesia is needed for treatment of facial telangiectasia-the laser pulses feel like little "snaps", and can be easily tolerated by most patients. In most cases a transparent cooling gel is applied to the skin to increase comfort and decrease superficial blistering. After the proper laser setting are made, the individual vessels are "traced" with indivisual laser pulses. In some cases, the skin may be cooled with an iced hydrogel during the treatment.
In some cases, especially in larger, high flow telangiectasia around the nose, there may be an improvement instead of complete resolution. Occasionally, the telangiectasia may at first appear worse than before treatment, and then disappear within a few weeks or months. It is much safer to re-treat than to run the risk of scarring-anticipate a re-treatment about a month after the initial treatment for best results.
Because melanin in skin also absorbs green 532nm light, darker skin can absorb some laser energy, and in some cases, cause mild superficial blistering and crusting ("chicken scratches"), which usually resolves in a few days. Temporary redness and lightening of the skin can occur, especially with higher fluences in darker skinned patients. Scarring is extremely rare with the energy settings used on the face.
Spider veins: Laser treatments for spider veins have become more effective with less side effects in using a special combination of KTP laser and constant cooling system. The small veins are coagulated by the KTP and the surface of the skin is protected from side effects by the cold flow of the cooling device. The coagulated vessels are absorbed by the body and the ugly spider veins have disappeared. Actually the spider veins are often feeded by thicker reticular varicous veins. Those have to be treated with sclerotherapy in advance to get better results with the laser. The effect usually lasts for several years and the therapy can be repeated very easily.
Drucken