What is Rosacea?
Rosacea is a chronic skin condition that results in flushing, redness, broken capillaries and bumpiness of the skin of the face.  It can also cause a condition called rhinophyma which results in a bumpy, red and enlarged nose, most commonly in men.  Rosacea can have flare ups which result in more symptoms and discomfort.  There are topical medications that can be used daily to treat rosacea but laser treatment is also highly effective and results in long remissions and reversal of damage.  Medical science is still not exactly sure what causes rosacea but it is known to occur more often in family members.

What causes those broken blood vessels on the face as you age?
Sometimes the visible enlarged capillaries that we call "broken" blood vessels are caused by rosacea, sun damage or both.

How does the laser treat rosacea and red veins?
We use a 532 KTP laser (by Iridex, formerly Laserscope) to target the vessels directly and seal them up with the laser energy.  Your body then clears away the useless vessel.  We use a combination of a laser "pen" to directly target those large, obvious vessels and larger handpieces to treat more diffuse redness from very tiny surface vessels.

Do I need those blood vessels?
No.  Your skin has a vast and duplicated circulatory system with many paths to get blood to and from the skin.

Are the treatments painful?
There is very little discomfort associated with this treatment but a topical numbing cream may be used to optimize your comfort.

How many treatments are needed?
That depends upon how severe the rosacea is or the amount of red veins present.  A consultation with a provider is recommended to determine how many treatments you may need.  A typical patient needs two to three treatments and possibly a follow up.  Rosacea patients may need to return when they begin to have a flare-up.