Pulsed Dye Laser Treatment of Port Wine Stain Birthmarks: Comparison of 577 nm Versus 595 nm Wavelengths

Overview

Port wine stain are a congenital, progressive vascular malformation of human skin. The pulsed dye laser is approved by the Food and Drug Administration for the treatment of choice. However, the degree of port wine stain blanching seen following pulsed dye laser treatment remains variable and unpredictable. If the ultimate standard required is complete lesion blanching, the average success rate is below 10%, even after undergoing numerous pulsed dye laser treatments. Moreover, less than 50% of patients achieve 50% fading of their Port wine stain in response to pulsed dye laser therapy.

The researchers' specific aim is to determine whether the use of the pulsed dye laser operating at a wavelength of 577 nm will improve therapeutic outcome as compared to a pulsed dye laser operating at 595 nm. The researcher can treat port wine stain treated using a pulsed dye laser operating at a wavelength of 577 nm and the other half at a wavelength of 595 nm. The researcher can determine that the 577 nm pulsed dye laser improved port wine stain blanching responses more than the areas treated with 595 nm. The degree of port wine stain blanching which will determine by visible reflectance spectroscopy skin imaging device measurements. Post-treatment blanching responses can compare with pre-treatment measurements of port wine stain fractional blood volume.

Conditions