Laser treatment of congenital vascular malformations.

Treatment of vascular malformations is one of the main indications for laser application in dermatology. The argon laser is suitable for coagulation of superficial lesions, the Nd:YAG laser for thicker ones. Vaporization or excision of vascular lesions can be performed by means of the CO2 laser. International standard of argon laser therapy of port wine stains are 60 to 70% good results in adult patients afflicted with red and purple lesions. In contrast argon laser therapy of pink lesions and of children is less successful. But more recently the flashlamp pumped dye laser has improved treatment results in children, since this laser acts much more vessel specific than the argon laser. Other congenital vascular lesions that respond to laser therapy are capillary hemangiomas, cavernous hemangiomas, and lymphangiomas. Future development may expand application of laser in the treatment of vascular malformations.