Laser treatment of benign cutaneous vascular lesions

Abstract

Benign cutaneous vascular lesions have been treated with a wide array of modalities. Lasers are a comparatively new form of treatment for cutaneous blood vessel abnormalities. Initially, results following laser treatment were disappointing, primarily because of widespread thermal injury to surrounding normal tissue. Recent developments in laser technology and the introduction of the tunable dye laser offer the ability to selectively target laser energy at specific chromophores such as oxyhemoglobin. The technique of selective photothermolysis provides successful treatment of benign vascular lesions with minimal damage to adjacent structures.