A New Argon Laser System with Kaleidoscanner and its Clinical Applications

Abstract

The argon laser has become a well-accepted modality for physicians interested in treating superficial vascular cutaneous lesions. It has become well-established and is the most commonly and successfully used treatment. However, conventional practical argon laser therapy for port wine stains is extremely difficult and often results in uneven and excessive local dosage during the treatment and operator fatigue is common, due to small laser beam size and uneven power distribution curve. We have developed the “Kaleidoscope”(a glass light-guiding rod) to obtain a uniform power distribution over the irradiated area and then applied it to the handpiece for a ruby laser system for treatment of hyperpig-mented skin lesions On the basis of our kaleidoscope system we have developed a new argon laser system incorporating a kaleidoscanner for treatment of vascular cutaneous lesions.