Is Vasculite a laser?

[Guest guest]

After reading several postings on the site I am more confused than

ever. I had a treatment with the Vasculite today. My last 4 tx were

the photoderm. Today she used a bigger looking filter with a handle

on it and called it a vasculite 570. She used a 2.8 fluence, 36

joules. My question is...is the Vasculite a laser or just a

different kind of photoderm. It was hooked up to the same machine

she always uses... I think. It hurt a little more than the

photoderm, that's for sure.

Thanks

Barbara

[Guest guest]

It's confusing, I know. Very poor naming convention if you ask me.

ESC Medical manufactures the " Vasculight Plus " which contains two

heads. One head is Intense Pulsed Light, the second head is a Nd:YAG

1064nm laser.

The IPL head emits a pulse of light consisting of various different

wavelengths. IPL is not a true laser because of the mixed wavelengths

in the light pulse. Light wavelengths from the IPL are varied using

filters. A 550 filter blocks wavelengths below 550nm. The 570nm

through 695nm filters work the same way. Generally speaking, the

higher filtration allows deeper penetration into the skin by

concentrating higher wavelengths into each pulse. IPL is what we

think of as conventional photoderm, and from your description, it

sounds to me as if you were treated with IPL, using a 570nm filter.

The Nd:YAG 1064nm laser head (#2) is a true laser, with a 1064nm

constant wavelength. This laser penetrates very deeply, and cooks

large, deep veins. For reasons which are unclear to me, the Nd:YAG

laser head is called a Vasculight. The Vasculight head has mostly

been used for treating varicose veins, although now, some docs are

using the Vasculight head to treat large, deep vessels in the facial

and neck regions which are not affected by IPL.

I was treated with the Nd:YAG " Vasculight " laser during TX's 11, 12

and 13. It is very effective at destroying deep veins; also I found

the YAG considerably more painful than IPL, especially at higher

settings. To me, each IPL burst feels like a hot " grease splat " from

a frying pan, combined with a " snap " feeling, similar to being popped

with a rubber band. The sensation is immediate, and only lasts for a

second or so. However, the YAG (Vasculight) produces a different

sensation. Each YAG burst takes a couple of seconds to start hurting,

but the pain increases for 30 seconds to one minute before it finally

begins to (slowly) diminish. This is a stinging, burning sensation

which is felt more deeply than the IPL burst. I HATE that feeling

from the YAG/Vasculight, but the YAG was certainly effective in

resolving my symptoms.

Hope this makes sense; if you still have questions, your doc should

be able to answer them. I'm pretty sure that you were treated with

standard photoderm IPL using a 570nm filter; I've never heard of

anyone using a 570 filter on the Vasculight head. But I'm a patient

not a pro, and I've been wrong before )

~ Jim

******************************************************************

After reading several postings on the site I am more confused than

ever. I had a treatment with the Vasculite today. My last 4 tx were

the photoderm. Today she used a bigger looking filter with a handle

on it and called it a vasculite 570. She used a 2.8 fluence, 36

joules. My question is...is the Vasculite a laser or just a

different kind of photoderm. It was hooked up to the same machine

she always uses... I think. It hurt a little more than the

photoderm, that's for sure.

Thanks

Barbara