Beauty lies in the eyes of the beholder. It is indeed true. But sometime the problem, if any, could become so severe that it would require some form of interference to correct it. We are talking about vascular birth marks here. It is something a person is born with. It often lowers the self esteem and confidence of a person.
Vascular birth marks could be of two types – Hemangioma and the Port Wine Stain. So there are many surgeries where you can remove these marks but without any incision in your body. In this article we bring to you a list of laser surgeries that can remove vascular birth marks. So read on.
List of Laser Surgeries For Vascular Birthmarks
Pulsed Dye Laser (PDL)
Pulsed Dye Laser treatment is used for treating capillary vascular malformations commonly known as flat haemangiomas. These are non cancerous and appear as red / purple blotches.This form of laser treatment is used to treat Port Wine Stains that is a type of vascular birthmark. This treatment is considered to be most safe and effective. It takes less time but you might require multiple sittings with your doctor.
Switched Nd YAG Laser
This laser surgery treatment can be used in removing birth marks as well. Though it take multiple sessions and time, you can go for this laser treatment to remove any kind of birthmark.
Quasi CW Laser Treatment
This is another form of laser surgery for vascular marks. It is not non scarring as Pulsed Dye Laser as there could be some marks left after the treatment is over.Quasi-continuous-wave lasers can be used with other form of laser treatment for better results. There are several variations of this treatment such as APTDL, copper vapor, krypton, and KTP lasers.
Q-Switched Lasers
This treatment can be used to remove any kind of lesions or birth marks in the body. Here the laser rays disperse the lesion into the body which is then carried away by the white blood cells.
Intense Pulsed Light Treatment (IPL)
Intense pulsed light (IPL) or flash lamp therapy is a non-invasive and non-ablative treatment that uses high intensity pulses of visible light to reduce or lighten skin marks. IPL works on the principles of laser where light energy gets absorbed into a particular target cell in the skin. The light energy gets converted into heat energy that destroys the targeted affected cells.
IPL systems are not exactly similar with lasers as here many wavelengths or colors are delivered with each pulse of light. In lasers this is done with just one wavelength. IPL therapy is known to be a non-ablative resurfacing technique, where the lower layers of skin or dermis are targeted instead of the top layers of skin epidermis. The outcome of this treatment is not as pronounced as the other treatments because here both the dermis and the epidermis of the skin are not destroyed.
The biggest advantage of IPL therapy remains that it takes the least amount of time in comparison to other treatments such as you can get the treatment done in your lunch break and return to work immediately after it. This treatment is very effective against any form of birthmarks.There are different types of IPL machines that are used in this treatment such as Lumenis I Quantum IPL, EpiLight and Ellipse.
There could be minor side effects after the treatment such as sensation of pain during treatment. This could be lessened by contact cooling. The treated skin could turn pinkish and a little sore right after the surgery. There could be mild sensation of burning. There are certain precautions one needs to follow after the IPL surgery. You should avoid stepping out in the sun during the day time and a couple of weeks after the surgery.