Abstract

Port wine stains are the most common vascular malformation of the skin, occurring in 0.3% to 0.5% of the population. Noninvasive laser irradiation with flashlamp-pumped pulsed dye lasers currently comprises the gold standard treatment of PWS; however, the majority of PWS fail to clear completely after selective photothermolysis. In this review, the clinically used PWS treatment modalities and techniques are discussed. Retrospective analysis of clinical studies published between 1990 and 2011 was performed to determine therapeutic efficacies for each clinically used modality/technique. In addition, factors that have resulted in the high degree of therapeutic recalcitrance are identified, and emerging experimental treatment strategies are addressed, including the use of photodynamic therapy, immunomodulators, angiogenesis inhibitors, hypobaric pressure, and site-specific pharmaco-laser therapy. © 2011 by the American Academy of Dermatology, Inc.