Abstract
Venous disease affects millions of people worldwide, and laser technology has revolutionized venous therapies. Surface venous lesions, superficial veins, and deep veins now have treatment options available which have completely replaced older open surgical procedures. A knowledge of laser-tissue interaction is necessary to successfully treat venous pathology in a safe and predictable manner. Laser safety demands special precautions for both the patient and the medical personnel. Treatment options usually are designed around the abnormal anatomic and physiologic findings on duplex ultrasound for non-cutaneous lesions; a good understanding of venous anatomy for both cutaneous and non-cutaneous lesions is essential. Surface laser application is effective for lesions with small vessels (cutaneous lesions) and endovenous laser is used for intraluminal obliteration of refluxing (insufficient) veins, and can be used for lysis of thrombotic lesions of the deep venous system. This versatile technology will predictably continue to improve venous therapy outcomes as it is further refined in the future.
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Moritz, M.W., Ombrellino, M., Agis, H. (2015). Laser Treatment of the Venous System. In: Topaz, O. (eds) Lasers in Cardiovascular Interventions. Springer, London. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4471-5220-0_24
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4471-5220-0_24
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