The treatment of cutaneous vascular lesions with the infra-red coagulator: a preliminary report

Abstract

The treatment of vascular naevi with lasers is widely practised. The concept of specific vascular damage was an early ideal but it is much harder to attain than had been anticipated. The favourable results achieved by coagulation necrosis of the epidermis and upper dermis with the argon and CO2 lasers prompted us to try to produce the same changes with non-laser radiation. We have used an infra-red coagulator to treat flat vascular naevi and ectatic blood vessels. The handpiece which looks like a gun has a light guide capped by a 6 mm diameter sapphire. This size combined with a pulse duration of less than 1.0 second enables large areas of skin to be treated quickly. Preliminary results are presented.