title: Treatment of facial port-wine stains with intense pulsed light: a prospective study.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Intense pulsed light (IPL) has been used for the treatment of port-wine stains for 10 years. There are many IPL systems that have different setting. Some of them have been reported in the treatment of fresh or laser-resistant port-wine stains localized in different body regions.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  Our aim was to conduct a prospective trial to assess the effectiveness of Lynton (The Lumina Family of Medical Flashlamp Systems) of the IPL family in the treatment of fresh facial port-wine stains.
  
  
  METHODS
  Twelve patients with facial and/or neck port-wine stains without previous treatment were enrolled in the trial. Patient demographics, treatment setting, outcome of clearing, and treatment complications were noted.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The treatment intervals were 4 to 6 weeks for three to six treatment sessions. Moderate improvement (50-75%) was achieved in 47% of the patients. Complete clearing was seen in only one patient (8.3%) after four treatment sessions. Hypertrophic scar formation in two patients occurred after healing blister. Except for the side effects, long-term complications were not seen.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Moderate effectiveness was achieved with IPL treatment in the facial port-wine stains.
authors.affiliation: Department of Dermatology, Meram Medical Faculty, Selçuk University, Konya, Turkey. mustafaozdemir@yahoo.com
authors.forename: Mustafa
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Ozdemir
authors.forename: Burhan
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Engin
authors.forename: Inci
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Mevlitoğlu
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D017439:Cicatrix, Hypertrophic / Q000209:etiology; D005145:Face / Q000473:pathology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009333:Neck / Q000473:pathology; D010789:Phototherapy / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000379:methods; D019339:Port-Wine Stain / Q000473:pathology / Q000628:therapy*; D011446:Prospective Studies; D011829:Radiation Dosage; D012867:Skin / Q000473:pathology; D016896:Treatment Outcome