Do Nd/Yag lasers inevitably destroy small blood vessels of the skin since it targets both melanin and hemoglobin?

Question

During the procedure of hair removal.

Michael J. Brown, MD · Answer

Good afternoon and thank you for your question! The Nd:YAG laser can be used for both laser hair removal and blood vessel reduction. However, the settings vary greatly depending on what is being treated. For laser hair removal (depending on the area being treated) the spot size is normally between 7mm and 10mm, whereas for the removal of blood vessels the spot size is normally between 3mm and 5mm. Furthermore, the fluence (energy) is completely different. For laser hair removal the fluence is normally between 25 joules and 50 joules and for blood vessel removal the fluence is anywhere from 120 joules to 200 joules (more or less). So as for the Nd:YAG being able to treat both blood vessels and hair the answer is yes, however, there are differences in the settings that are used. Hope this helps! For more information please feel free to visit our website!

Glenn Messina, MD · Answer

That was a great question and it got me thinking, so thank you. The long pl=ulse yag will destroy hair follicles as well as blood vessels but will it during a laser hair treatment ?
I have to say no and I will explain why. Although it is the same laser the settings are very different . When layering hair the spot size is large on mine 16mm and the energy used is lower say 20-60j and the amount of time the laser is on the follicle is shore 3-10 milliseconds.
Now when I want to target a vein my beam is small anywhere form 1.5mm to 5mm and the laser energy quite high somewhere between 120 and 200 j with the laser remaining on the area for a longer time. 
Therefore I would not expect to harm these vessels when performing laser hair removal with the YAG. If any are occluded they may be some of the smaller once but there is no significant injury to the larger important vessels.

Do Nd/Yag lasers inevitably destroy small blood vessels of the skin since it targets both melanin and hemoglobin?

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Do Nd/Yag lasers inevitably destroy small blood vessels of the skin since it targets both melanin and hemoglobin?

Answers (2)

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Everything you need to know about YAG Laser

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