Help! No results after YAG!

LaserThemOff · 3rd November 2009, 02:34 PM

Dear Forum,

This is my first post, and I just wanna say the abundance of information here has been a godsend. I'm currently on Finacea and Doxycycline, but am still unsure if my condition would be considered Rosacea, or just sun damage and acne.

Anyways, I have some visible spider veins on one cheek and, most noticeably on my nose. The ones on my nose cause a constant red, ruddy appearance. I decided to go to a laser clinic a week ago to try and get the veins lasered off. The procedure was quick and the practitioner seemed to think it was working. Here I am a week later, the swelling is completely gone, but I'm left with these unsightly buggers. I may see a small reduction in the redness, but its hard to say. She said if this didn't work, she would have to adjust the settings. Should the spider veins be gone by now, or does it take longer for the body to absorb them? Would a higher intensity setting have a better chance of zapping them?

Thanks for the help guys. This really is driving batty.

Nathan

DJC · 3rd November 2009, 04:10 PM

Definitely depends on the settings. I would go back after you give your skin 6 weeks to rest. Get the higher setting. Gradually build up, you dont wont any complications from going overboard.

Getting bruising settings from V-Beam also helps.

LaserThemOff · 3rd November 2009, 04:38 PM

Thanks!

She told me to give it two weeks, but you think I should wait six? How long does it take the veins to be reabsorbed? Are most results immediate or can it take a month?

Stphn · 3rd November 2009, 05:12 PM

Hey Nathan,

For me at least, it took a few sessions before redness and veins were really 'gone'. I didn't have the YAG laser, but hope to in a few weeks. Also, I have read in these forums, that it does indeed take time for your body to absorb the destroyed vessels, etc.

I found a wealth of information in older threads in this forum, particularly in the IPL section.

hope this helps,

stephen

banshee · 3rd November 2009, 06:32 PM

You should get YAGS 6 weeks apart at minimum. Any more than that is pointless and could cause too much trauma to the blood vessels and actually overstimulate vessel growth. It takes 4-6 weeks to heal, and you wouldn't see results in a week as it takes time for the photons from the laser to do their job.

Something else to consider, is that YAGS longer wavelength of 1064nm is generally not useful for thread veins. Those are usually closer to the surface of the skin. You may try something like the 532nm KTP or V-beam.

Lastly, often times when you get any laser and background redness is aided, those veins wind up becoming more visible b/c they're no longer cloaked by the ruddiness. So it's not necessarily that the treatment was ineffective-just the wrong depth to address that issue.

Hang in there and see how your face is in about 4 weeks....

best wishes-
Kristen

LaserThemOff · 5th November 2009, 12:41 AM

Thanks everyone!

I think the last poster might have hit the nail on the head. It appears as though the background redness is subsiding, but the underlying capillaries are still there. I will wait, and if in 6 weeks the problem is still substantial I'll look into V-beam. It only sucks, because I'm a college student and can't afford many treatments.

phlika29 · 5th November 2009, 07:28 AM

Hi Nathan

Can you confirm it was the YAg 1064 that was used?

if so this isnt the laser for surface veins, it is best at targeting the deeper veins as banshee mentioned. I wouldnt go back expecting a second treatment to really do much more than the first if the same laser is used.

Does the clinic have v-beam or KTP (and the correct experience using them)?

LaserThemOff · 6th November 2009, 05:17 PM

phika29,

The laser used was the GentleYAG, which I believe has a 1064 wavelength. I didn't go to a clinic, it's more like a beauty salon(Total Laser Concepts) that does hair and tattoo removal. They don't have V-beam or KTP. I went because they lady said she only charges $150 per treatment. I had my doubts, and the lack of results has confirmed them. She didn't make me pay yet, and probably won't if I don't have results. I guess I need to look into a V-beam treatment somewhere else. Should I still wait 6 weeks before doing this?

Thanks everyone!

LaserThemOff · 10th November 2009, 02:46 AM

Quick question:

If I didn't have good results from the YAG the first time around, is there any point in going in for a second treatment? Or should I look into V-beam, since my primary issue is surface veins?

Thanks alot

heliotrope · 10th November 2009, 03:58 PM

Hi LaserThemOff

I reckon that I have a similar problem to you. I'm a bloke, aged 28, with thread veins/spider veins/telangiectasia - whatever-you-want-to-call-them - on and around my nose and a bit on the cheeks. Not terribly bad, but enough to cause me a bit of anxiety and worry about how they might develop further int he next few years.

So, I've been doing as much lay research as possible on lasers and other things. Incidentally, I also just returned home about 30 minutes ago after having had my first laser test patch - exciting stuff.

So, veins on the face. Everyone here is right I think; KTP and PDL are best for superficial red/bright red veins on the face. That's just because the wavelengths they use (532nm and around 585-595 respectively) target those colours and because of the small depth of the veins beneath the skin.

The 1064 nm wavelength penetrate deeper and id best suited to leg veins - but also deep veins on the face, on the side of the nose for example. It is not the laser of choice for small superficial veins.

The laser I opted for was the Cynosure Cynergy, which is a newish (2006) PDL/YAG combo. It hits the vein with PDL followed immediately by a low powered YAG. The combo works because the PDL does something sciencey in the first hit which makes the target veins more susceptible to the YAG hit afterwards. Also, the YAG is used at 2-3 times lower power than normal (which reduces redness and swelling).

So, erm....go for PDL or KTP. Bruising (purpric) PDL sessions are more effective than non-bruising but well, leave you with a bruise for a while.

Also, don't expect immediate results; veins hit by laser; vein spasms and empties (yay!); over several weeks some veins will return (boo!). It will probably take several sessions to significantly reduce them. If you manage your own expectations you won't be disappointed.

For clarity, VBeam is a proprietry name for a PDL laser manufactured by Candela. One of its main selling points is that as well as doing normal purpric PDL stuff, it also operates as a lower-powered long pulsed PDL. Than means that rather than exploding your veins, it heats them up in a friendly way, which reduces purpura. That's also what the laser I used today does. The upside = fewer side effects (i.e. no purple bruises). The downside = probably more treatments.

Hope that is some help.

Oh, whether or not to go back? I'd say no; they were only offering you what they had, which happened to be a YAG laser. Go somewhere where they have a variety of lasers so that the advice you receive isn't influenced by lack of laser resource.Also, there's tonnes of info online about lasers, the physics and their relative strengths. If you use a pinch of salt (try to go for impartial sites if you can find them!) then you can get a good idea about what to expect in terms of results, side effects and cost.