Clinical comparison of potassium-titanyl-phosphate (KTP) versus neodymium:YAG (Nd:YAG) laser treatment for lower extremity telangiectases.

BACKGROUND

The Nd:YAG laser has been considered the gold standard of treatment for leg veins, but pain and side effects have fueled physicians to use treatment alternatives.

OBJECTIVE

To compare the clinical efficacy of the long-pulsed 1064-nm Nd:YAG laser with KTP laser irradiation in the treatment of leg telangiectasia.

METHODS

A series of 16 patients with size-matched superficial telangiectases of the lower extremities were randomly assigned to receive three consecutive monthly treatments with the long-pulsed 1064-nm Nd:YAG on one leg and 532-nm KTP laser irradiation on the other.

RESULTS

For the 16 patients who completed the study, 64 leg vein sites were treated. Average clinical improvement scores were 1.94 and 1.25 for the KTP laser-treated leg and 3.38 and 3.50 for the Nd:YAG laser-treated leg with thin (≤ 1 mm) and large (1-3 mm) vessels, respectively. After the third treatment session, average improvement scores of 2.44, 1.31 and 3.75, 3.23 were given for the KTP and Nd:YAG laser-treated sides, respectively.

CONCLUSIONS

Both the 1064-nm Nd:YAG and KTP lasers are effective in the treatment of lower extremity telangiectases. However, the KTP laser has very low efficacy with vessels larger than 1 mm and should not be elected when treating such vessels.