SELECTIVE PHOTOTHERMOLYSIS OF VENECTASIAS AND TELANGIECTASIAS OF THE LEG

Leg venectasia is a common problem. Although there are a variety of th erapeutic modalities, none of them gives satisfactory results. The eff ects of sclerotherapy in the treatment of telangiectasia with a small diameter are poor. Electrocoagulation and argon laser treatment often result in scarring. We studied the effectiveness of the flashlamp pump ed pulsed dye laser at a wavelength of 585 nm in the treatment of leg venectasia. After repeated treatments using this laser system, only 30 % of the vessels that looked blue on clinical examination could be rem oved; we obtained better lightening of smaller red, telangiectatic ves sels with a diameter up to 0.4 mm. However, hyperpigmentation frequent ly developed after treatment. In post-treatment biopsies, occlusion of the vessels was found, Based on these results, we recommend a combine d therapy for leg venectasia, Larger diameter vessels should be treate d with sclerotherapy, while finer telangiectasia can be treated with t he flashlamp pumped pulsed dye laser.