ABSTRACT
References 455
Lasers and light-based therapies are currently the only acceptable modalities for the
treatment of port wine stains (PWS). Prior to the development of laser technology,
PWS were treated with radiation, surgical excision and grafting, cryosurgery, and camou-
flage with cosmetics or tattoos. All of these techniques produced unsatisfactory results and
poor aesthetic outcomes. The development of the pulsed dye laser in the 1980s permitted
selective photocoagulation and destruction of the lesional blood vessels without damaging
the surrounding skin. Laser treatment produces dramatic clearing of PWS with minimal
scarring or epidermal damage, minimizes lesional hypertrophy, decreases the risk of
bleeding from hypertrophy or pyogenic granulomas formation, and reduces the associated
psychosocial morbidity.
