Vascular Lesions

A vascular lesion is a skin blemish due to abnormal blood vessels located directly under the surface of the skin, thereby giving the skin a red color. Types of vascular lesions include port-wine stains, hemangiomas, cherry angiomas, and spider veins. Before the advent of laser surgery, there was no acceptable treatment for the various types of vascular lesions. Lasers work by directing energy toward ink in the skin with highly concentrated colored light beams. These laser beams break up ink particles into tiny fragments which are later cleared up by the body’s scavenging cells. This process of fragmenting the ink particles requires numerous sessions depending on the depth of the ink level. The procedure is bloodless and no incisions are made. The laser selectively targets the pigment of the tattoo without damaging the surrounding skin. With deeper penetration of the skin and multiple sessions however, the heat generated by the lasers may cause pain and blister formation.