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The Right Parameters for Challenging Conditions


An ideal vascular laser gives you the ability to treat even the most challenging vascular conditions successfully.Cutera developed the Excel V laser specifically to address these conditions.


One of the most challenging vascular conditions to treat is port wine stains because the small fine capillaries that make up the port wine stain require high energy in a short pulse length. An in vivo measurement of port wine stain vessels determined the thermal relaxation time to be in the range of 1 to 10 milliseconds.1 These small vessels also require a high energy to provide sufficient heat for results. The Excel V laser can deliver sufficient energy to treat port wine stains with up to a 10 millisecond pulse width.


The Excel V laser can deliver high energy in a short pulse width with a large spot size.

The Excel V laser is the only system that combines the advantages of green lasers with the ability to deliver sufficient energy with pulse lengths in the 5 to 10 millisecond range. It is powerful enough to create purpura during treatment. The photo below shows the purpura created with the Excel V using the 532 nm wavelength, 7 mm spot size, fluence of 6.6 J/cm2 and a 3 millisecond pulse. The purpura is very similar to the results from a pulsed dye laser.


Case Study

Port wine stain treatment provides an example to highlight the challenge. The small fine capillaries that make up the port wine stain require high energy in a short pulse. Since port wine stains can also cover a large area, the system should deliver the required pulse width and fluence in a large spot size. A key benchmark for this treatment is the ability to create purpura, since only a system with high energy in a short pulse will be capable of this.


Photos courtesy of Whitney D. Tope, MPhil, MD
Image of Port Wine Stain Image of Port Wine Stain after Excel V Treatment
Before Treatment Immediately After Treatment

Continue Learning

To learn more about adding the Excel V laser to your practice, please contact us online or call (888) 4-CUTERA or (415) 657-5500.


1. C. Dierickx, J. Casparian, V. Venugtopalan, W. Farinelli & R. Anderson; Thermal Relaxation of Port-Wide Stain Vessels Probed In Vivo: The Need for 1-10-Millisecond Laser Pulse Treatment. J. Invest. Dermatol., 105:709-14 (1995).