Venous lakes (Bean-Walsh) of the lips--treatment experience with the argon laser and 18 months follow-up.

The intense blue-green light of the argon laser has proven very effective in the treatment of a great variety of vascular skin disorders. Venous lakes (Bean-Walsh) of the lips are blood-filled dome-shaped lesions, their treatment often requiring surgery. Fifty-one patients suffering from this disorder were treated with the argon laser with 1.5-2.0-mm spot size, 0.3-s pulse duration and 1.8-3.0-W power. In most cases treatment was carried out without local anaesthesia. Laser impact was followed immediately by shrinking of the lesions and replacement by a whitish-grey plaque. Excellent cosmetic results were obtained in 90% of the patients. Three patients showed mild scarring. At 18 months follow-up only one patient showed a recurrence. The argon laser appears to be a highly effective non-invasive treatment modality for venous lakes of the lips.