[Treatment of superficial varicosities with a flashlamp-pumped pulsed dye laser with 1.5 ms impulse time].

A new flashlamp-pumped pulsed dye laser with 1.5 ms pulse length and tunable wavelengths between 585 and 600 nm (Candela ScleroPLUS) is now available for the treatment of ectatic leg veins. We evaluated 232 single test treatments using 595 and 600 nm wavelength in 75 test persons. For smaller vessels up to a diameter of 0.5 mm, treatments at 16 and 18 J/cm2 showed good results in 60 and 82% respectively; for vessels up to 1 mm in 27 and 33%. Treatment at 595 nm was a little more effective than at 600 nm. Larger vessels could not be treated effectively. The main side effects consisted in hyper-(34%) or hypopigmentation (30%). Thus, in addition to the usual sclerotherapy, this laser is a useful device for the treatment of leg vein ectasia.