ABSTRACT
The lasers used for vascular lesions are separated into two main groups: pulsed lasers and continuous wave (CW) and quasi-continuous wave lasers. The latter group includes the argon laser (488, 514 nm), the argon pumped tunable dye laser (488-638 nm), the potassium titanyl phosphate or KTP laser (532 nm), the krypton laser (568 nm), and the copper vapor and copper bromide lasers (578 nm). Because of the extensive thermal diffusion induced by CW and quasi-CW lasers, the risk of adverse effects is quite high and their use has been limited to selected cases, such as nodular PWS, high-flow spider angiomas, pyogenic granulomas, and thick venous lakes. The pulsed lasers and light sources include the pulsed dye lasers, the pulsed KTP lasers, the pulsed infrared lasers and the intense pulsed light source (Table 22.1).
