Capillary Malformations Treated With Sequential Pulsed Dye and Nd:YAG Laser Therapy: A Retrospective Study.
INTRODUCTION AND OBJECTIVE
Capillary malformations are the most common vascular malformations in childhood. The current treatment of choice is pulsed dye laser (PDL) therapy, but this frequently does not result in complete resolution. The search for alternative treatment strategies thus continues. In this study we describe our experience with the use of sequential dual-wavelength PDL and Nd:YAG laser therapy in patients with capillary malformations.


MATERIAL AND METHODS
We conducted a retrospective, descriptive study of patients with capillary malformations treated with dual-wavelength PDL and Nd:YAG laser therapy between 2006 and 2011. Four dermatologists rated the effectiveness of treatment on a scale of 10 to 0. We also investigated the potential value of the following factors as predictors of better treatment response: sex, malformation size and color, and presence of associated hypertrophy. Adverse effects were also analyzed.


RESULTS
We studied 71 patients and most of them experienced a statistically significant improvement after treatment. More favorable responses were observed for violaceous malformations, lesions with associated hypertrophy, and smaller lesions. Adverse effects were reported for 26.76% of patients, and the most common effect was the appearance of isolated areas of skin atrophy.


CONCLUSIONS
We consider that sequential dual-wavelength PDL and ND:YAG laser therapy is an effective alternative for treating capillary malformations in selected patients.
['Alcántara-González|J|J|', 'Boixeda|P|P|', 'Truchuelo-Díez|M T|MT|', 'Jiménez-Gómez|N|N|', 'Pérez-García|B|B|', 'Pérez-Carmona|L|L|', 'Jaén Olasolo|P|P|']
D000293:Adolescent D000328:Adult D000368:Aged D002196:Capillaries D002648:Child D005260:Female D006801:Humans D054025:Lasers, Dye D053844:Lasers, Solid-State D008297:Male D008875:Middle Aged D012189:Retrospective Studies D054079:Vascular Malformations D014656:Vascular Surgical Procedures D055815:Young Adult
Capillary malformation Nd:YAG laser Pulsed dye laser Sequential dual-wavelength Doble longitud de onda secuencial Laser treatment Láser de Nd:YAG Láser de colorante pulsado Malformación capilar Tratamiento láser