TREATMENT OF ESSENTIAL TELANGIECTASIAS WITH AN INTENSE PULSED-LIGHT SOURCE (PHOTODERM VL)

BACKGROUND. The flashlamp-pumped pulsed dye laser (585 and 577 nm) has proven to be a very effective and safe treatment option in the therap y of essential telangiectasias (ETE). Nevertheless, the postoperative intracutaneous hematomata, which most patients see as cosmetically dis figuring, always has been a matter of concern. OBJECTIVE. TO test the efficacy and safety of a new, large spot size, intense pulsed light so urce, the PhotoDerm VL, which emits noncoherent light adjustable withi n the 515-1200-nm range, in the treatment of ETE. METHODS. Fourteen pa tients were treated with the PhotoDerm VL. They suffered from ETE of t he face, postoperative teleangiectasis of the nose, ETE of both legs, and poikiloderma of Civatte. RESULTS. All treated lesions could be abr ogated with excellent results by this new device. There were no unplea sant side effects of the treatment. Additionally, due to the large spo t size (2.8 cm(2)), a larger area could be treated within one session. No anesthesia was required. CONCLUSION. The PhotoDerm VL is an innova tive, highly effective, and comparably safe therapeutic alternative to the laser in the treatment of ETE. The rate of cosmetically relevant side effects is considerably smaller, the patient compliance is excell ent, and the method can be applied easily in an outpatient setting. (C ) 1997 by the American Society for Dermatologic Surgery, Inc.