V-Beam Purpura More Than Expected - Portland, OR

I have had V-beam a number of times and it works well for spider veins. 3 weeks ago today I had V-beam purpura. The results were purple spots so severe it did indeed look like a black marker was used all over my face. I sort of thought at first this extreme look was trauma that would go away after a day or so but when I saw after two days there was virtually no change I did start to panic.

I did not leave the house for 5 days. At 5 days. At 7 days I took the profile pic. The discoloration was still very severe but I was tired of being stuck in the house and had to go shopping for food.

I decided to have the treatment because I have red hair, fair skin and a redness to my face that seems to be increasing with age. I was told by the highly respected dermatologist that to treat this kind of general redness the only option is to treat 2-3 times with a setting used for Port wine Stains. He said the bruising would be severe, and could last a week. He provided no description of the bruising or pictures however. I suppose I could have researched but I have had bruising in the past and expected something similar again with slight swelling and a purple/ yellow hue to the healing bruise that could be covered by makeup. That was not the case. The bruising consisted of dark purple spots all over my face and some nearly black where the skin burned a bit. I returned to work 1 week later still unable to cover the spots and presented with the need to provide an awkward explanation to my coworkers for my strange appearance. One person asked if I had chicken pox as you can see in the photo this question was justified.

In 3 days it will be 3 weeks and while the bruising is gone there are still residual brown spots where the bruising was and my face is still red, just like before. From what I have read the brown spots may be hemosiderin collection under the skin, a by product of hemoglobin breakdown that occurs when the blood vessels are ruptured and blood is released into the surrounding tissues. I have also read that they should go away on their own. None of this was explained to me as a possibility when I had the procedure. I will have corrective laser treatments procedures if the spots do not resolve soon.

So far I have seen no benefit to this type of V-beam treatment, only draw backs and I will certainly not return for this sort of V-beam treatment again. The down time was that I could expect from a surgical procedure. I support and have had good results with laser previously and will have more but not at this setting level.

I would appreciate any recommendations from others who have had successful treatment of generalized redness.