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More laser treatments

 From removing birthmarks to correcting eyesight, laser surgery offers a variety of new treatments.

Here, we look at six more laser treatments

Birthmarks
Brown birthmarks are caused by an excess of melanin, the skin's natural tanning pigment. Exposure to the sun can increase the amount of melanin in the skin, creating more marks such as freckles and liver spots.

Red birthmarks are caused by an excess of blood vessels near the surface of the skin and include port wine stains, spider veins and strawberry-birthmarks.

To remove them, lasers are selected by matching the colour of the laser light to the colour of the birthmark, then a series of brief pulses to break down the red or brown colouring in the skin.

Hair removal
Traditionally, electrolysis has been used to remove unwanted facial or body hair. But lasers are considered by some to be a less painful and quicker alternative.

The right laser has to be used to suit the type of hair. For example, a Ruby laser targets darker hair as it contains more of the pigment melanin. Several treatments are needed to achieve good results.

Energy is passed from the laser down to the root of the hair where it causes thermal damage to the area. The heat weakens the hair bulb and should destroy the growth cells.

The hair may immediately shrivel up. Sometimes there is no immediate change, but when the hair does fall out it should grow back finer in texture.

Tattoo removal
Tattoos are made up of inks or pigments that are injected into the dermis of the skin to form a picture. Over time, the body surrounds these particles with a protective wall of collagen to seal them into position.

To remove, lasers are selected which will match the chromaform - the colours - of the tattoo.

The laser energy is then delivered in a series of brief pulses which, over a series of treatments, trigger scavenger cells to break down the tattoo ink into tiny particles. These are then excreted from the body.

After treatment there may be whitening, crusting or tiny pinpoint bleeding of the treated area.

Eyes
Laser surgery can be used in an attempt to improve shortsightedness, long-sightedness and astigmatism. It works by permanently altering and reshaping the thickness of the cornea.

The method used is Lasik (Laser In-Situ Keratomileusis), which involves cutting and lifting a layer of skin on the cornea's surface, lasering the exposed tissue and then replacing the layer.

The cornea needs to be flattened for short- sighted patients, and increased in curvature for those who are long-sighted. For astigmatism, the aim is to make the cornea more spherical in shape.

However, laser eye surgery is not without risks and new methods, developed at Moorfields Eye Hospital in London, now use satellite mapping technology to build up a 3D image of the lens and cornea so that lasers can be targeted with greater accuracy.

Legs
Veins are needed to transport blood back to the heart and lungs once oxygen has been removed. However, when the valves in veins become damaged, blood pressure alters leading to the gradual enlargement that is varicose veins.

To treat varicose veins, an Ndyag laser is used to send heat deep into the veins to destroy the haemoglobin in the blood. This causes the blood to coagulate, and within six to eight weeks it will be drained from the body by the lymph nodes, so removing the bulging appearance of the veins.

Lasers and light therapy can also be used to treat spider veins - extremely small vessels that become large and visible due to increased pressure.

A pulse of intense light from a Vasculight machine is directed into the haemoglobin, which gives blood its red colour. The heat transmitted by the light causes the vein to shrivel and disappear.

The treatment only takes a few minutes, but several sessions may be needed.

Blushing
Many adults struggle with a permanently flushed face caused by a condition called rosacea. However, laser treatment can be used to eliminate the malfunctioning blood vessels under the skin which make the face red.

Although rosacea can be treated with creams and antibiotics to calm the skin down, dilated blood vessels remain beneath the skin.

But a laser can be used to emit specific wavelengths of light targeted at these tiny blood vessels. Heat from the laser builds in the vessels, making them collapse and disappear. Sessions take 15-30 minutes.