Abstract:

ABSTRACT Port wine stain (PWS) is a congenital cutaneous vascular malformation involving ectatic post-capillary venules. Current standard treatment for PWS is the pulsed dye laser (PDL), which can achieve a certain degree of color blanching in various types of PWS lesions. However, the majority of PWS lesions require multiple treatments or combination therapy. Some PWS lesions can recur or become darker after successful treatment. Recently, it has been proposed that this phenomenon might be initiated by neoangiogenesis that can be caused by photothermolysis via wound healing response. The combined use of laser irradiation and a topical application of an angiogenic inhibitor such as Imiquimod and Rapamycin, were evaluated in several pilot studies. This article will discuss rationales of using such a combination modality and highlight recent progress based on our clinical experience and published data.

Key words: laser, wound healing response, angiogenesis, angiogenic inhibitor, Port Wine Stain