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.

Conclusion: 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.