Therapy of a port-wine stain

Whether or not to have a port-wine stain treated is ultimately left to your own discretion. There is no medical necessity in this sense, as the port-wine stain is a benign malformation. Often parents have to decide whether or not to have the birthmark removed from their baby.

A common method to remove port-wine stains is laser therapy. As a rule, a port-wine stain is treated with laser therapy in the first days of life up to 6 months of age.If parents have not yet made a decision regarding the therapy at this time, laser therapy is usually carried out again at school age, as children can then actively participate in the decision. The therapy is performed with a pulsed dye laser.

In some cases other lasers (alexandrite laser and Nd:YAG laser) are used, which penetrate deeper into the skin. This is especially beneficial for thicker and darker port-wine stains. The laser causes the red blood cells in the dilated vessels of the port-wine stain to heat up.

These red blood cells give off the heat to the vessel walls, which burst as a result. Therefore, the skin is discolored blue immediately after the treatment. This discoloration (hematoma) disappears after 1 to 2 weeks.

Usually 8 to 10 treatments are necessary to achieve a satisfactory result. Fewer or more sessions may also be necessary. The interval between two therapy sessions is on average 2 months.

After the treatment a slight swelling may occur, which will go down under cooling. After the therapy, greater physical exertion and sports as well as sauna sessions should be avoided for about 3 days. Direct sunlight should be avoided for 2 to 3 weeks.

Many doctors plead for completion of the treatment before the age of three to avoid stigmatization of the child. Infants and toddlers are given general anesthesia for the treatment as it is painful and otherwise not tolerated. Apart from laser therapy, there is another inexpensive and non-invasive way to treat port-wine stains, namely make-up.

To cover a port-wine stain, special camouflage make-up is necessary, which has a high covering power. Although the port-wine stain cannot be removed this way, it can be made “invisible”. Depending on how large the port-wine stain is and where it is located, a covering can be a good alternative to laser therapy.

Especially small, rather inconspicuous port-wine stains that are bright can be covered very well. But honestly it must be said that covering very large and dark port-wine stains is very difficult. Especially in the face the cosmetic result with make-up is not very satisfying for many people. For large port-wine stains or port-wine stains on the face, laser therapy is therefore usually the better alternative. Unfortunately there is no other treatment option.