Cherry angiomas are common, often proving to be an irritation for patients as they tend to be deemed cosmetically unattractive, particularly if large numbers start to develop. This is a common condition I see at my clinic so I am always keen to hear about new treatments for them. I found this study very interesting and I know that sclerotherapy is used for the treatment of veins in the legs and works well when treating venous blood but I had not heard of it being used for Campbell de Morgan spots. This study was conducted on 20 patients and 100 lesions >0.2mm were injected with 3% sodium tetradecyl. The lesions that were treated had between one and four sessions. Although the authors have concluded it as an effective treatment, which is an economical alternative (the results demonstrating that 42 of the lesions were treated in one dose), some of the complications that have been reported concern me. We know from extensive work with sclerotherapy in leg thread veins that there is a less than 1% risk of ulceration but the results of the study show 11 (17%) of patients having ulceration or hyperpigmentation in the area where the Campbell de Morgan spots were treated. No mention is made of any compression. Although the authors claim that these eventually were resolved, it leads me to feel that contrary to the conclusion in this study, this should be seen as a warning for treating Campbell de Morgan spots, when there are so many other treatments available that are still economic but do not have the level of complications associated with them that sclerotherapy does and that can treat the spot entirely in one session.
Is sclerotherapy useful for cherry angiomas?
Reviewed by Victoria Smith
Is sclerotherapy useful for cherry angiomas?
CONTRIBUTOR
Victoria Whiteley
BSc (Hons), ITEC, VTCT, Aesthetic Phlebology Practitioner, Director of The Whiteley Clinic.
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