Efficacy of a novel intense pulsed light system for the treatment of port wine stains.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES

Port wine stains (PWS) are capillary malformations typically treated with lasers or with intense pulsed light (IPL). This paper summarizes our safety and efficacy findings for a new IPL designed to target the dermal vessels of PWS.

METHODS

The PWS received three to four treatments with a novel IPL containing a vascular-specific handpiece (LuxG, dual wavelength band of 500-670 nm and 870-1400 nm; Palomar Medical Technologies, Inc.). Clinical benefit was assessed qualitatively with a quartile-assessment scale and quantitatively with a skinphotometer.

RESULTS

Three months post-treatment, over 50% of PWS exhibited statistically significant improvements of 51-75% or higher. The pre-treatment PWS mean erythema value of 189.72+/-18.40 (95% Confidence Interval [CI]) was reduced to 147.22+/-16.15 post-treatment, thereby approaching the normal skin erythema value of 117.61 +/- 15.90. The mean percent reduction in vascularity at 3 months was statistically significant at -55.4 (p=0.0000003). Treatments were well-tolerated with minimal to no subject downtime and limited side effects of transient erythema (all subjects) or mild crusting and mild purpura (n=1).

CONCLUSION

These results demonstrate the efficacy and safety of this novel IPL in providing therapeutic benefit to patients suffering from PWS.