Brown marks removal from legs – Haemosiderin

Many people want brown marks removal from their legs. The brown marks are caused by “haemosiderin".

What causes brown marks on the legs?

The major cause of these brown marks is chronic inflammation. This is most like to be due to:

• Varicose veins


• "Hidden varicose veins"


• Healed Leg Ulcer


• Following sclerotherapy


• Following infection in the leg.

As part of the healing process, iron is released from local blood cells. This iron is toxic to the body. Therefore, the body encases the iron in a protein. This is called “haemosiderin”. The protein and iron together appears as a brown marks on the skin.

Method of brown marks removal:

Research has shown that haemosiderin can be broken apart by specific treatment with a special laser. At The Whiteley Clinic, Vicki Smith and Mark Whiteley have been combining this laser technique with a topical skin care regime for brown marks removal. The number of treatments needed depends on the size of the brown mark on the skin, and how dark it is.

Brown marks due to varicose veins:

When brown marks appear on the skin at the ankle due to varicose veins or “hidden varicose veins”, this is classified as CEAP C4. The brown marks (Haemosiderin) occur because of the venous blood refluxing the wrong way down the veins. This occurs due to the one-way valves failing in the veins. The appearance of brown marks at the ankles is a sign of severe venous disease. If the underlying varicose veins or “hidden varicose veins” are not treated, the skin damage will continue. This is eventually lead to a venous leg ulcer. Therefore, before any brown marks removal is planned, the underlying veins need to be checked. This is done with a venous duplex ultrasound. Any venous reflux is then treated before the brown marks removal. For more information about brown marks removal, please contact our Guildford clinic.