Lasers for cutaneous congenital vascular lesions: a comprehensive overview and update

The use of laser to treat cutaneous lesions began with Dr. Leon Goldman and his coworkers in 1963. Ten years later, these authors described promising effects on angiomas using the continuous-wave neodymium:yttrium-aluminum-garnet laser. In 1983, Anderson et al. proposed the photothermolysis theory. The selective destruction of vascular lesions is based on this principle, and it is still a guide for treatment of vascular lesions. Over the past 25 years, laser treatment of cutaneous vascular lesions has progressed significantly. Vascular lasers such as argon, tunable dye, krypton, and copper vapor were used in the past and were associated not only with risk of scarring but also hyper- and hypopigmentation. Since then, new devices were developed in order to minimize these side effects. This article presents an overview and update of the current available treatment of cutaneous vascular lesions and covers future directions for vascular laser technology.