Birthmarks are congenital (present at birth) abnormalities of the skin that are seen in approximately 5% of the population. Birthmarks may be composed of blood vessels, (port wine stain or hemangiomas), pigmented cells called café au lait (coffee and cream) or blue black dermal stains called nevus of Ota.

Port wine stains can occur anywhere on the body and may rarely be associated with underlying abnormalities of the eye and brain. Port wine stains show diffuse collections of dilated capillaries in the dermis thus their name capillary hemangioma. New treatments using pulsed yellow and green light lasers can improve or eliminate many of these lesions. There are various programs for infants, children and adults with these conditions.
 

Hemangiomas are raised vascular tumors that may be found in superficial or deep (cavernous) locations in the skin. Hemangiomas may undergo rapid growth in the first few weeks of life and may present problems secondary to compression of vital structures (eye, neck). Evidence suggests that hemangiomas are best treated early in life prior to there rapid expansion phase. Multiple lasers are available, at our center to address these vascular tumors. Pulsed yellow, green light, Diode, Alexandrite and ND-YAG lasers are all used to treat these lesions depending on size, color and anatomic location.

Pigment birthmarks are divided into superficial epidermal or deep (nevus of ota) varieties.

Café au lait birthmarks are caused by excess melanin deposits in the epidermis and respond very favorably to pulsed green light lasers. However, there is approximately a 50% risk of recurrence requiring re-treatment.

Nevus of Ota shows good to excellent response using Ruby, Alexandrite or ND YAG lasers. Multiple treatments are required to eliminate the collections of pigment cells seen deep in the dermis.

Where certain birthmarks can be treated in a single session most patients require more than one treatment to get the degree of success they desire. Birthmarks are generally treated until no further lightening occurs. We may at that point try other lasers in order to obtain further response.