Clinical Study of Flashlamp Dye Laser Treatment for Port-Wine Stains

Abstract

295 patients (305 lesions) with port-wine stains (PWS) were treated using the flashlamp dye laser (Candela SPTL-1P, SPTL-1). The patients whose lesions did not lighten significantly at the first treatment would receive two or more treatments at intervals of more than one month. The results of the 305 total lesions were excellent in 85 lesions (28%), good in 186 (61%), fair in 23 (7%), poor in 11 (4%). Thirty-four lesions which were judged to have less satisfactory results, received only one or two treatments.All the lesions which received three or more treatments were judged to have satisfactory results. Slight scar formation were found in 5 lesions, They were caused by scratching and not caused by laser irradiation itself. Twenty-two lesions developed transient hyper or hypopigmentation, which returned to normal skin color within six months. From clinical findings, it appeared that the flashlamp dye laser is highly effective and safe in the treatment of PWS and repeated additional irradiation to the same site at regular intervals could attain high efficacy at any site of the patients of any age. When we treated the patients with very dark skin, skin abrasion was performed first and then irradiation was done during the stage of hypopigmentation following the epithelization, so that desirable consequence was obtained as the result of the increased transmittance of the laser beam.