ABSTRACT
The etiology of venous disorders, including varicose veins and leg telangiectasia, is complex and still incompletely understood. Leg telangiectasias have been described morphologically by naming their pattern as linear, arborized or Besenreiser-type, spider or star-like, and punctiform or papular. Successful treatment of telangiectasia with the use of lasers or intense pulsed light (IPL) sources has to meet a number of conditions which are imposed by the physics of light–tissue interaction. However, even in its early days, IPL was able to demonstrate excellent results on leg telangiectasia. Hyperpigmentation can happen with the use of any laser or IPL source, but is more likely to happen after treatment of telangiectasia with shorter-wavelength lasers, such as 532-nm potassium titanyl phosphate devices. Technology has progressed to such a degree that lasers and light sources for transcutaneous treatment of small varicosities and catheter-based systems for percutaneous treatment of clinically relevant varicose veins now meet most of these demands.
