title: Laser surgery of leg veins.
abstract: The use of lasers and light sources in treating lower-extremity blood vessels has not been as successful as they are for treatment of facial telangiectasia. Several reasons for this lack of success include increased hydrostatic pressure on the lower extremities and the anatomy of lower-extremity blood vessels. These vessels are in a deeper location, have thick surrounding adventitial tissue, and have increased basal lamina when compared with facial telangiectasia. Improvements in matching pulse duration to vessel size, use of more penetrating, longer wavelengths, and the addition of sophisticated cooling methods have improved the results with leg veins during the past 2 years. Further refinements in laser technology over the next few years will probably enhance treatment efficacy of lower-extremity telangiectasias.
authors.affiliation: Maryland Laser Skin and Vein Institute, Department of Dermatology, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland, USA. rwderm@earthlink.net
authors.forename: Robert A
authors.initials: RA
authors.lastname: Weiss
authors.forename: Jeffrey S
authors.initials: JS
authors.lastname: Dover
mesh_terms: D004954:Esthetics; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D053685:Laser Therapy / Q000379:methods*; D008297:Male; D017060:Patient Satisfaction; D011379:Prognosis; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D014648:Varicose Veins / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000601:surgery*