Port wine stains treatment
Traditional treatments
These include surgery (which can result in scarring), cryotherapy, where the skin is frozen using liquid nitrogen or liquid carbon dioxide (this often leaves white unpigmented areas and/or small scars), dermabrasion (where the physician will sand the skin using a tool with a metal wheel that has a rough surface) and electrocautery (where a special heated scalpel is used to surgical remove the vascular lesion while the heat cauterises the bleeding).
All of these measures can be quite painful and are not as effective as laser treatment. In addition nearly all of them result in scarring which may be severe if enough to require skin grafts.
Although not a treatment for PWS as such, skin camouflage is a common way of covering these often unslightly lesions. Special cover creams can be placed over the stains to improve the skin's appearance.
Laser treatment
Laser treatment is now considered the most effective means of treating Port wine stains since it is the only treatment that can destroy the blood vessels supplying the lesion without any significant change to the overlying skin. Although the treatment may not remove the port wine stain completely, in most cases the results are excellent. Treatment works best on young children because the stain is relatively new and flat whereas in adults it can become bumpy, raised and darker in colour. In addition better results are achieved on smaller, paler stains.
Fotona's laser systems that use a KTP Nd:YAG laser are perfect for effective treatment of Port Wine Stains. The KTP laser emits a green laser that does not penetrate too deeply into the skin. The energy from this laser is absorbed by the blood vessels in the Port wine stain selectively destroying them and thereby reducing the appearance colour of the vascular lesion. Several treatments are required to achieve satisfactory results. Although the treatment is relatively painless a local anesthetic lotion is usually applied to minimise any discomfort.