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Treatment using pulsed dye lasers for port-wine stains without the use of general anesthesia was safe and effective in infants, according to a study published in JAMA Dermatology.
Researchers retrospectively analyzed data from medical records to evaluate the safety and efficacy of using pulsed dye laser treatment without general anesthesia on port-wine stain in children at the age of 1 or younger. Demographic information, lesion size and location, and procedure methodology were obtained from a high-volume laser center. Based on photographs, physicians rated the improvement due to treatments on a visual analog scale.
Of the 197 children included, 62.9% were girls, the mean age at the start of treatment was 3.38 months old, 75.6% had lesions on the face, and 90.9% had Fitzpatrick skin types I-III. The mean number of treatments was 9.8 with a mean treatment interval of 37.29 days. After treatment, 25.9% of the infants showed complete clearance, 41.1% showed excellent clearance, 22.3% showed good clearance, 6.6% showed fair clearance, and 4.1% showed poor clearance. Infants with a first branch of the trigeminal nerve lesion had a significantly higher clearance rate (P <.001), and infants with a third branch of the trigeminal nerve lesion had a significantly lower clearance rate (P =.04), but this significance was associated with the size of the lesions.
Limitations of this study include a lack of follow-up appointments, not including a control group, and that assessments were made from photographs.
Researchers concluded pulsed dye laser treatments without general anesthesia are safe and effective for infants with port-wine stain and their findings “support early in-office treatment, particularly when the treatment can be performed with minimal risk for complications.”
Reference
Jeon H, Bernstein LJ, Belkin DA, Ghalili S, Geronemus RG. Pulsed dye laser treatment of port-wine stains in infancy without the need for general anesthesia [published online March 13, 2019]. JAMA Dermatol. doi: 10.1001/jamadermatol.2018.5249
