Reddish or purplish patches of blood vessels that have ruptured underneath the skin—spider veins, port wine stains, hemangiomas and broken capillaries, for example—are called vascular lesions. Some venous malformations are congenital, or present at birth. Others develop and become visible sometime between infancy and adulthood. Congenital vascular lesions consist of port-wine stains (birthmarks), salmon patches, hemangeiomas, lymphangiomas and other venous malformations. Acquired vascular lesions occur later in life and include cherry angiomas, spider veins and varicose veins (telangiectasia).
Vascular lesions can be any size, shape or color intensity. When located on the face, neck, head and other body areas that are difficult to conceal, richly colored vascular lesions that dramatically contrast with the skin’s natural tone can cause deep-seated psychological problems such as social anxiety, social phobia and low self-esteem. While some vascular lesions may be small enough to remain inconspicuous or negligible to the person’s overall appearance, others are large and unsightly, sometimes covering most of a person’s face, neck, arms or legs.
If you suffer from vascular lesions and have always wanted to improve your appearance by removing or fading the dark discoloration of these lesions, Mayoral Dermatology has several treatment options that painlessly and effectively diminish the appearance of highly visible vascular lesions.
Port Wine Stains
Geneticists recently identified the genetic marker that causes port wine stains, or birthmarks. Occurring in about three out of every 1000 births, port wine stains are enlarged capillaries that produce purplish-red stains on the skin. Most infants who have port wine stains have them somewhere on the face but birthmarks can appear anywhere on the body. Newborn birthmarks are pinkish and flat but as the child grows, the port wine stain deepens in color. Rarely causing an health issues, port wine stains occasionally grow thicker or bumpy over time, which may necessitate a different type of laser surgery than the ones offered at Mayoral Dermatology.
Hemangiomas
Hemangiomas are benign, excessive growths of blood vessels that generally develop as solitary patches on the neck or head. Bright red and elevated above the skin’s surface, more severe hemangiomas may ulcerate and bleed, causing pain and scarring. Alternately, cherry angiomas are not as serious as hemangiomas, being smaller, smoother and papule-like. Cherry angiomas develop in adulthood and frequently affect the trunk of the body, increasing in number as a person ages.
Venous Lakes
Affecting more elderly people than younger adults, venous lakes resemble cherry angiomas in appearance but can appear on the lips, ears, neck and face. Dome-shaped and elevated, venous lakes are dark purple or blue and present no symptoms other than bleeding if bumped or injured. A proliferation of venous lakes covering the face is a harmless condition but presents an aesthetic problem that impels most people to seek cosmetic treatment for the removal of these lesions.
Telangiectasias
Resembling spider veins when appearing on the legs, telangiectasias represent extremely dilated blood vessels that often occur spontaneously due to aging, hypertension, pregnancy, sun exposure or certain medications. This type of vascular lesion is frequently seen in port wine stains and acne rosacea and may vanish temporarily if pressure is applied to the lesion area. Telangiectasias conditions cause more problems aesthetically than medically, with many women attempting to conceal unsightly lesions with self-tanning lotions or liquid cosmetics. Fortunately, Mayoral Dermatology offers much more effective treatment methods that can improve the unsightly discolorations of telangiectasias and return your skin to its natural tone without anesthesia, surgery or downtime.
Treatments at Mayoral Dermatology
Alma Harmony (IPL)
Patients with vascular lesions who choose to diminish the appearance of vascular lesions with Alma Harmony, an Intense Pulsed Light therapy, will experience results within three to five sessions. Alma Harmony applies a series of pulsed light beams over vascular lesions strong enough to penetrate skin layers and allow its absorption by pigmentation or blood vessels. Once this heat starts to damage the dilated vessels comprising the lesion, your skin initiates its own healing process and seals these vessels so they are no longer able to transport blood. Consequently, the unattractive redness of vascular lesions is reduced or eliminated. In addition, this “damage” also stimulates production of collagen, a substance that promotes healthier, younger looking skin.
Vbeam® Perfecta Pulsed Dye Laser
Designed especially to relieve patients of unsightly vascular lesions, the Candela Vbeam® Perfecta Pulsed Dye Laser delivers bursts of intense, yellow light that coagulates blood vessels to diminish the fiery redness of vascular lesions and improve the natural tone of your skin. Most patients see noticeable results after three months of treatment using when treated with the innovative Vbeam® Perfecta Pulsed Dye Laser.
Our providers at Mayoral Dermatology will be happy to assess any suspected vascular lesions you may have and provide expert recommendations concerning therapies capable of diminishing the visibility of unattractive vascular lesions.
