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How does laser vein removal work?
Certain wavelegnths of light absorb very well in blood. That means that the blood will heat-up very quickly relative the tissue surrounding it. When a vascular laser pulses on a target vessel, the blood in that vessels heats up. The heat transfers then transfers to the vessel walls causing a highly localized thermal injury without damaging the sourrounding tissue. This process can be used to destroy veins and vascular lesions anywhere on the body.
What can it be used to treat?
- Veins from 0.1mm - 5mm anywhere on the body
- Cherry Angioma
- Port Wine Stains
- Venous Lake
- Hemangioma
What type of lasers are used?
There are two main types of vascular laser. The oldest is the Pulse Dye Laser. This is used mainly for superficial, tiny vessels. The other is the 1064nm Nd/YAG laser which is used for larger, deeper vessels.
What should I expect?
Veins can take several weeks to months to fully be absorbed after treatment. Our lasers are able to treat large, deep vessels making recurrence much less likely. Most common side effect: bruising - lasts anywhere from a few days to a couple weeks depending on the size of the vessels treated.
How many treatment do I need?
This depends on the type of lesion to be treated.
- Cherry Angiomas: 1 treatment
- Smaller vessels on the face: 1-3 treatments
- Leg vessels: 2-3 treatments
- Port Wine Stains: More than 5 treatments
What happens during the procedure?
These lasers can remove vessels on any part of the body including the face. They are most effective on vessels 5mm or less. The Pulse Dye Laser is also very effective for treatment of Rosacea and Port-Wine Stains (big purple birthmarks). Most patients average 1-3 sessions for veins usually spaced about 6-10 weeks apart. Length of session depends on the size of the area to be treated. Only mild discomfort is noted during treatment. Patients can return to their normal activities that day and no compression stockings are needed.
How much does it cost?
Cost is strictly determined by time. The charge is $150 per ten minute treatment block. Most lesions can be treated in 10-30 minutes per session.
What are the alternative therapies? Sclerotherapy uses either saline or a filler that is injected into the vessel. This procedure is better for large vessels (1cm) and is not a very good choice for fine vessels due to difficulty getting the needle into such a small lumen. There is about a 40%-60% failure rate depending on skill of the injector and what is injected. Patients are required to wear compression stockings for about a week afterward. Average cost $350-$500 for 30 minutes of treatment. Most common side effect: bruising (tends to be worse than with laser due to the physical puncture in the vessel where the blood leaks out into the soft tissue). |
