Venous lake is a vascular lesion also known as phlebectasis. It is normally a solitary, soft dark blue papule. It is found commonly on sun-exposed surfaces such as the border of the lip, face and ears.

Cause

The cause is unknown. It may be associated with sun exposure, leading to a dilated blood-filled vascular channel.

Treatment

• Surgical excision: Our dermatologist; Dr Bryan McDonald can offer this option at Onewellbeck Hospital in London. Is an effective option to remove venous lakes but will leave a scar.
• Laser therapy: has become the mainstay of therapy. Research shows that the Long Pulsed Nd:YAG laser is a very effective option to treat venous lakes, with a clearance rate of 94% following a single treatment. In this study no scarring or other complications were reported
• Electrolysis: Our electrolysis practitioner Sarah Tayeby has years of experience and can treat venous lakes that are very small and did not respond to laser therapy.

Most of the vascular lesions arriving at the clinic are easily treatable. venus lake is one of the most common and can be improved in a couple of sessions. We use a traditional long pulsed Nd-YAG laser as it has the best depth of penetration for vascular lesions.

At our clinic, a consultation is always the best way to be assessed by our practitioners. The best advice is to treat your venus lake when it is small. It is more difficult in fact to treat large and raised venus lakes as more energy and more sessions may be required. If you notice that it is growing, book your appointment to check it. Although we can treat any age, it is faster to recover and treat it at a younger age, when the skin is able to quickly recover after the treatment with a lower risk of scarring. On the other hand, if it was too small sometimes we recommend electrolysis treatment which can work very precisely and destroy even a tiny venus lake. 

Laser is the quicker, less painful, and less scarring way to remove it. In case the venus lake wasn’t suitable for laser you could be advised to search for a surgical method of removal. Very rarely a patient can have two venus lakes and they can be treatable as well in the same laser session.   

We require every patient to obtain a letter or certificate of diagnosis from their GP, or our Dermatologist, before booking the laser consultation and possible treatment on the same day. We also request client to avoid taking aspirin, ibuprofen, paracetamol at least a 48 hours before your treatment as this medications will interfere with treatment results. These medications in fact can thin the blood and increase the risk of bleeding during the laser treatment. 

For more information, you can contact us by email by sending a picture of your Venus Lake, and we will advise you further.

Written by: Laura. Clinical lead practitioner at The Angel Laser Clinic

Edited and posted by Dianna. Clinic director at The Angel Laser Clinic