Birthmarks and Port Wine Stains
Our skin colour is determined by the amount of melanin we have in our skin. However, sometimes abnormal concentrations of melanin or haemoglobin can occur at birth, causing a birthmark. While these are generally harmless, many sufferers decide to get treatment because they find their birthmark embarrassing, unattractive and hard to disguise.
A port wine stain is a red or purple birthmark caused by an area of abnormal blood vessels. Because port wine stains usually occur on the face, they can affect the confidence and social skills of sufferers.
Our Lumenis One system uses Intense Pulse Light (IPL) to deliver controlled bursts of energy to the affected skin. The IPL works because the light energy is absorbed into the skin, targeting the haemoglobin inside the abnormal blood vessels and heating it up. This heat is transferred to the walls of the vessels, damaging them. The body will then re-absorb them, making the lesion fade away.
Treatment tends to work best on port wine stains of the face, and less well on the arms and legs. As a rule, the paler the port wine stain, the greater the chance of excellent results.
Small port wine stains are easier to treat than large ones, but our IPL system is particularly effective when treating large birthmarks. The large spot size of the system allows us to successfully treat a larger area of skin than an inferior laser system.
Prior to your first treatment, Dr. Montero will assess your skin’s suitability for laser and will begin with a patch test as a further safety measure.
More detailed information available on request