Summary
During a 2-year period 201 patients underwent treatment for spider naevi with a 585 nm pulsed dye laser at Canniesburn Hospital Laser Suite. Patients were treated with
a either single or double pulse technique. Of these patients 191 (95%) had a successful
result, with clearance in a mean of 1.8 treatments (range, 1–7). There was no significant
difference between the two treatment protocols in terms of probability of clearing
the lesion or number of treatments required. These 191 patients were contacted by
postal survey to determine their long-term results. The mean duration of follow-up
was 37.9 months (range, 27–51 months).
Response rate to the survey was 73%, 139 patients. Fifty patients (36%) had suffered
recurrence of their spider naevi in the same site. There was no correlation found
between the risk of recurrence and the site, number of treatments received, size and
characteristics of the spider naevus, or treatment protocol used. The risk of recurrence
increased with increasing age and was higher for peripheral facial lesions.
The most common time of recurrence was between 6 and 18 months with 48% of recurrences
occurring during this period. Existing published series, which have demonstrated low
recurrence rates, have either had low numbers of patients or short follow-up periods
of less than 6 months.
Keywords
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References
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Article info
Publication history
Published online: January 29, 2007
Accepted:
October 27,
2006
Received:
March 12,
2006
Identification
Copyright
© 2006 British Association of Plastic, Reconstructive and Aesthetic Surgeons. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
