Argon Laser Therapy of Small Cutaneous Vascular Lesions

Abstract

• The argon laser is an effective tool for treating many kinds of small cutaneous vascular lesions. Blue-green argon light is absorbed by the intraluminal red hemoglobin molecule, leading to the destruction of blood vessels. Thirty-one patients with eight different types of ectatic lesions were treated using a laser with apertures of either 0.02 or 0.1 cm. Good to excellent results were found in patients with spider ectasia, cherry angioma, rosacea with red nose and diffuse ectasia, rosacea with ectatic linear vessels, adenoma sebaceum in a patient with tuberous sclerosis, and some types of telangiectasia. Treatment of a nasolabial telangiectasia and ectatic leg vessels sometimes resulted in partial or total destruction of vessels but was often accompanied by adverse effects of atrophy or postinflammatory hyperpigmentation. (<i>Arch Dermatol</i>1982;118:220-224)