WEDNESDAY, April 17, 2024 -- Once-weekly pulsed dye laser (PDL) treatment for port-wine birthmark (PWB) in infancy is associated with near-total or total clearance of PWB, with no reports of adverse events, according to a study published online April 17 in JAMA Dermatology.

Shirin Bajaj, M.D., from the Laser & Skin Surgery Center of New York in New York City, and colleagues describe the outcomes of once-weekly PDL treatments for PWB in infants in a case series involving 10 patients younger than 6 months with PWB who received once-weekly PDL between Jan. 1, 2022, and Dec. 31, 2023. Two months after the initiation of treatment, before-and-after treatment photographs were independently assessed and graded.

The researchers found that after two months, seven of the patients had experienced near-total clearance (76 to 95 percent) or total clearance (96 to 100 percent) of their PWB with once-weekly PDL treatments. The remaining patients also experienced marked improvement (51 to 75 percent) and went on to achieve near-total clearance with additional treatments. To achieve near-total or total clearance in all patients, the median duration of treatment was two months and median number of treatments was eight. There were no adverse events reported.

"These outcomes are compelling and warrant attention and further investigation into the possibility that this novel and decreased treatment interval of one week, made possible by the absence of posttreatment-related purpura, is associated with potential improvement in outcomes and shorter overall treatment duration," the authors write.