When not to treat cutaneous vascular lesions with the pulsed dye laser

The availability of effective laser treatment for cutaneous vascular lesions has risen dramatically in recent years. At the same time, there has been a proliferation of laser providers with varying amounts of training—both medical and nonmedical. We report a series of four cases where patients prese...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Lasers in surgery and medicine 2011-09, Vol.43 (8), p.792-796
Main Authors: Shofner, Joshua D., Lipworth, Adam, Tannous, Zeina, Avram, Mathew M.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adult
Benign
Cosmetics
Differential diagnosis
Humans
Lasers
Lasers, Dye
Male
Middle Aged
petechiae
pulsed dye laser
Skin Diseases, Vascular - diagnosis
Skin Diseases, Vascular - surgery
telangiectasia
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Summary:The availability of effective laser treatment for cutaneous vascular lesions has risen dramatically in recent years. At the same time, there has been a proliferation of laser providers with varying amounts of training—both medical and nonmedical. We report a series of four cases where patients presented for cosmetic evaluation of vascular lesions and were discovered to have more significant pathologic disease. In presenting these cases, we hope to illuminate a basic differential diagnosis that exists for cutaneous vascular lesions and remind healthcare providers that not all “cosmetic” concerns are benign in origin. There is a differential diagnosis that exists for cutaneous vascular lesions that is worth reviewing, and it should be considered in all patients presenting for laser treatment. Lasers Surg. Med. © 2011 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
ISSN:0196-8092
1096-9101
1096-9101
DOI:10.1002/lsm.21119