Pigmented Lesion Removal
We are pleased to offer the availability of two lasers which can remove pigmented skin spots such as brown age and sun damage spots, "liver spots", freckles, and many brown birthmarks. We use the HGM Krypton Laser and the Medlite Nd:Yag Laser. Making use of the concept of selective photothermolysis, these green light lasers create a beam of light that passes through normal skin and is absorbed by the brown spots.

These lasers emit light in very short flashes called pulses. The impact of the energy from the powerful pulse of light is similar to the snap of a thin rubber band. After the treatment, the area will feel similar to a slight sunburn. The area forms a very thin gray crust which heals in less than two weeks. The treated spots remain slightly red from two to four weeks. After the redness clears, the skin is returned to its natural smooth coloring and texture.

At least 80 percent of all common pigmented lesions are removed with one treatment. Larger areas are usually treated in stages. The usual treatment takes 15 minutes and any area of the body can be treated. The most common treatment locations are the face, hands, and arms.

Facial Veins, Blood Vessel Birthmarks and Port-wine Stains
At the Advanced Dermatology & Laser Center we utilize two lasers to treat cutaneous blood vessel abnormalities. The krypton laser is our patients' favorite because it does not cause any bruising unlike our second yellow light laser called the pulse-dye laser which does cause a temporary bruise. Treatment sessions are usually 15 minutes in length and do cause the feeling of a rubber band snapping against the skin. Although more than 80 percent of our patients do not request local anesthesia, some have requested the use of EMLA cream. This prescription anesthetic cream can be applied to the treatment areas 90 minutes before the procedure giving some localized numbing and markedly reducing the short stinging sensation.

A consultation is necessary to discuss the best choice of laser to treat your particular type of skin problem. Deeper vessels often require the use of the pulse dye laser. Both of these yellow light lasers do not damage healthy skin since their light is selectively absorbed by the red blood vessels leaving the normal skin undisturbed.

Many facial veins will fade after just one treatment. However, it is not unusual for patients to need more than one treatment to achieve the desired results. Port-wine stains and large blood vessel birthmarks almost always need more than one treatment. There is no way to precisely predict the number of treatments needed for these larger and deeper blood vessel abnormalities.

Healing with the krypton and pulse-dye laser usually takes less than two weeks and can be covered with make-up to hide the minimal thin crusting following treatment with the krypton laser and more noticeable bruising following use of the pulse-dye laser.

(At the present time, we do not recommend laser treatments as the first-line treatment for leg veins due to the unpredictability of laser treatment of leg veins. Even though there are more than a half dozen lasers available that will help make leg veins less visible, no laser has proven to be more effective than traditional injection sclerotherapy. We are optimistic that there will be newer laser techniques for treatment of leg veins sometime in the near future.)