Spider Vein and Portwine Stain Reduction at Auckland Cosmetic Medicine Clinic Ltd - Sapphire Appearance Medicine Clinic

Dr Garsing Wong, international speaker, executive member of the New Zealand College of Appearance Medicine, gives lectures on laser and intense pulse light treatment teaching doctors in New Zealand and abroad, uses the advanced pulse light and laser system from Starlux from Palomar Medical Technologies Inc (USA) at Auckland Cosmetic Medicine Clinic Limited also known as Sapphire Appearance Medicine Clinic, to treat Spider Veins and reduce Portwine Stains on your skin, using our NdYAG 1064nm long pulse laser and/or super IPL or Intense Pulse Light.

Before and after vein treatment curtesy of Palomar.

Before you even contemplate having your concern treated, you must have the skin properly analysed by a qualified doctor, otherwise you risk having potentially serious skin lesions missed.  Unfortunately, New Zealand has the highest rate of Melanoma in the world, and this can be missed by the untrained eye.

Usually a combination of treatment modalities are required as each handpiece - laser or super IPL have different unique properties that can treat different aspects of the conditions.

Light based treatments employ the physics of the light to obtain the desired result.  To understand which light based treatment is needed, you need to understand what the target is, the depth of the target, and the energy required to achieve the result.  You cannot expect to be able to treat multiple conditions with only one hand piece or one light source.  

We use the 1064nm NdYAG long pulse laser to treat appropriate vascular lesions.  This can be combined with the super IPL of Intense Pulse Light.

At Auckland Cosmetic Medicine Clinic Limited, also known as Sapphire Appearance Medicine Clinic, we have chosen the Starlux platform as the machine offers the ability to use different handpieces from the same machine, so that our patients can recieve a truely tailored treatment.

Spider veins, also know as Spider naevi or Spider angiomas, are caused by very superficial fine blood vessels being visible.  They get their name from their appearance as they have a central area with fine blood vessels extending out like a spokes on a bicycle wheel. There are certain medical conditions that cause you to have these, so it is important  that we consult with you or for you to see your own doctor before initiating any treatment.  They can be seen in the young and the old.  Our body is continually making new blood vessels, so treatment with the 1064nm NdYAG laser is aimed at controlling the appearance of the spider veins by safely destroying these.

We offer electrosurgery in the form of Surgitron, cryotherapy with liquified nitrogen, 1064nm NdYAG laser and super IPL ( Intense Pulse Light ), to treat this benign condition.  It is also very important to remember that there is no need to treat spider veins as they are not harmful, however you need to see a qualified doctor to ensure that the spider veins are not due to an underlying potentially serious medical condition.

This is distinctly different compared to generalised telangiectasias which are small dilated visible blood vessels on your skin not due to any underlying medical condition.

Portwine stains are prominent blood vessels that are malformed on the skin. They are sometimes called telangiectatic naevi or nevi. They can range from being a small spot or can sometimes cover a whole limb.  Portwine stains are always present from the day you are born, although they may not be apparent.  As you grow older, they become more obvious as the grow larger in proportion to your age.  Even though the portwine stain grows bigger as you grow, they are not cancerous.  Majority of lesion that are flat,do not require any investigations.

Portwine stains can be treated by a variety of lasers.  You can expect 40% of lesions to improve in their appearance by atleast 70% after multiple treatments.  

After evaluating your condition, and assessing your expectation, we will be able to offer you advice on which treatment option would be available.

If you would like to have a free initial consultation with Margaret to know more about the treatments, please contact us by click this link to make an appointment.

update 28 February 2012