How Are Port-Wine Stains Treated?

Discussion Port-wine stains (PWS) or birthmarks are capillary and post-capillary venule malformations which are usually congenital but can be acquired. In newborns they occur in 0.3-0.5% of births. They are pink to dark-red to purple in color, usually flat and solid across the tissue. They are persistent lesions and can develop to have hypertrophy and nodular characteristics. They can occur in any location but tend to involve the head and neck. Isolated PWS are associated with GNAQ, GNA11 and PiK3CA hot spot genetic mutations. PWS are also associated with some syndromes such as Sturge-Weber, Klippel-Trenaunay, other phakomatosis and some overgrowth syndromes. Patients with lesions that are higher risk or have other stigmata for a potential syndrome will need intradisciplinary evaluation and treatment. Over time, many lesions in the limb and trunk distribution are stable or lighten and facial lesions may become darker, and can develop to have hypertrophy and nodular characteristics. Long-term patients can experience cosmetic and functional impairments and also intralesional pyogenic granulomas, and squamous or basal cell carcinomas. Learning Point Selective photothermolysis is the theory that underlies the treatment of vascular lesions using lasers. Light absorbing targets (chromophores) are heated and damaged with surrounding tissues having minimal injuries. The targets are oxyhemoglobin, deoxyhemoglobin and methemoglobin. Laser treatments carefully choose and weigh the wavel...
Source: PediatricEducation.org - Category: Pediatrics Authors: Tags: Uncategorized Source Type: news