Tunable dye laser (577 nm) treatment of port wine stains

Despite steady improvement in the laser treatment of port wine stains (PWS), hypertrophic scarring remains a serious side-effect in approximately 10% of patients. The tunable dye laser (577 nm) has been shown to cause selective vascular destruction in normal and PWS skin. We have treated ten patients using a tunable dye laser (577 nm, 300 mu sec) resulting in clearing of the PWS without any evidence of hypertrophic scarring. Treatment requires no anesthesia or wound care, and there were no postoperative infections.