title: Treatment of the skin manifestations of hereditary hemorrhagic telangiectasia with pulsed dye laser.
abstract: Hereditary hemorrhagic telangiectasia (HHT) is a familial disorder, in which variably sized arteriovenous malformations develop in the skin, respiratory tract, central nervous system, and gastrointestinal and urogenital tracts. Bleeding is a major problem in the abnormal vessels, primarily in the nose and internal lesions. Skin lesions, in contrast, do not generally bleed spontaneously but pose a significant cosmetic concern. The lesions are characteristically small caliber vessels located in the dermis. As such, they are ideal targets for vascular lesions. Eight patients with cutaneous facial lesions of HHT were treated by pulsed dye laser. All patients exhibited excellent (75-100%) clearance after a mean of 2.6 treatments (range 1-8). In comparison, a control group of patients with non-HHT facial telangiectasia required a mean of 1.9 (range 1-5; p < 0.05) treatments. No adverse events were reported in either group. The study confirms the safety and efficacy of PDL in the management of the cutaneous lesions of HHT.
authors.affiliation: Herzelia Dermatology and Laser Center, Herzelia Pituach, Israel.
authors.forename: Shlomit
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Halachmi
authors.forename: Hadar
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Israeli
authors.forename: Dan
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Ben-Amitai
authors.forename: Moshe
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Lapidoth
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001165:Arteriovenous Malformations / Q000473:pathology / Q000601:surgery; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D005145:Face; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D054025:Lasers, Dye / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012867:Skin / Q000098:blood supply; D012871:Skin Diseases / Q000473:pathology / Q000601:surgery*; D013683:Telangiectasia, Hereditary Hemorrhagic / Q000473:pathology / Q000601:surgery*; D013684:Telangiectasis / Q000473:pathology / Q000601:surgery; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D055815:Young Adult