“Broken capillaries” on the face are a common result of prior sun exposure. They can also be caused by chronic skin irritation or use of steroid creams and trauma, including prior facial surgery. Whatever the cause, the treatment of choice is laser. The laser light is specifically absorbed by the blood in the abnormal vessels resulting in vaporisation of this target with subsequent resorption by the body.
The skin is not breached by this treatment, unlike older treatments such as diathermy or electrolysis which apply an electric burn to the skin and vessels leaving punctate scars. The sensation is that of a very short sting, the intensity varying with the sensitivity of the site. One of the lasers we use for vascular lesions has a cooling spray which reduces the sensation considerably. The treated area will look slightly blushed immediately after the treatment, usually settling in an hour or so. Occasionally some people will have a mild crusting of the skin which usually flakes off in a few days. Some larger areas occasionally look slightly grey-tinged or superficially bruised after treatment.
The skin is cared for in the usual way …. Cleansers, moisturisers, sun screens, make-up ….. all can be used normally. In the following few days, some vessels may seem to reappear but fade again as the body reabsorbs them. If the body is unable to completely reabsorb them, further laser treatment may be performed six weeks after the original session. Some other vascular abnormalities may also be treated in this way e.g. portwine stains, spider naevi and cherry angiomata. Larger vascular lesions may experience some scaling or scabbing of the skin usually settling in a week or so. Pigmented lesions, such as freckles, solar and seborrhoeic keratoses, café-au-lait spots, “liver” or age spots (on the hands or face) may also be treated with laser. Depending on the spot, its location and the laser used to treat it, it will look darker or scabby afterwards and will flake off in a few days to a week. Some lesions may require further treatment for complete resolution. This could be done six weeks after the initial session.