Eczema within port wine stain: spontaneous and laser-induced Meyerson phenomenon.

Port wine stain (PWS, nevus flammeus) is a relatively common vascular malformation of postcapillary venules affecting 0.3 to 0.5% of newborn children. Since the mid-1990s, a case series and several case reports have described dermatitis on PWS corresponding to Meyerson phenomenon, usually reported in the setting of melanocytic nevi. There is no universal explanation of the cause or pathogenesis of eczema occurring in PWS, but it may be precipitated by atopic disease or vascular laser treatment of the malformation. Here we described two non-atopic girls with dermatitis developing within their nevi flammei, in one temporally related to KTP laser treatment, and in the other obviously not associated with the treatment. However, in both patients the eczema responded well to a short course of topical corticosteroids.