Abstract
To assess the effectiveness of the flashlamp-pumped pulsed dye laser in the treatment of port-wine stains. A retrospective review of medical records and patients. Royal Perth Hospital (a tertiary referral hospital), August 1989 to December 1992. 186 consecutive patients with port-wine stains treated with a flashlamp-pumped pulsed dye laser. Degree of lesion fading; adverse reactions. Of 131 patients who completed treatment, 78% had better than 50% fading of the lesion and only 9% had less than 25% fading. An average 3.4 treatments were needed to achieve more than 50% fading. The response was better in children than in adults, although the difference was not significant. Anaesthesia was needed for 44% of patients. Pigmentary change (usually transient) occurred in 6.1% of patients and permanent and signficiant adverse effects in only 4.6%. This study confirms the efficacy of the flashlamp-pumped pulsed dye laser in the treatment of port-wine stains in children and adults. Early treatment of port-wine stains should be encouraged to reduce the physical and psychological morbidity of disfiguring lesions.
Published Version
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