Treatment of congenital telangiectatic vascular malformations with the pulsed-dye laser (585 nm)

The two most common vascular abnormalities of childhood are port-wine stains and hemangiomas. Port-wine stains are congenital capillary malformations, whereas hemangiomas are benign tumors of vascular endothelium. The natural history of each of these lesions is distinct. Port-wine stains begin as discrete pink/red macules and grow proportionately with the child. As they mature they darken, and vascular ectasia and blebbing, as well as soft tissue and bony overgrowth of the affected area, can develop. Hemangiomas undergo a very predictable natural history, progressing through a rapid growth phase out of proportion to the child's growth, followed by a regressive phase and eventual involution in 90% of cases.