# Carbon dioxide laser ablation as an effective method for treating nodular areas in Port wine stains: a series of two cases

## TL;DR

This paper reports that CO2 laser ablation effectively treats nodular areas in port wine stains, improving appearance without significant side effects.

## Contribution

The study demonstrates the safety and efficacy of CO2 laser for treating PWS nodules, a novel application of this laser system.

## Key findings

- CO2 laser treatment successfully flattened PWS nodules in two patients.
- The treatment caused minimal side effects and improved skin appearance.
- Laser parameters were optimized to reduce the risk of scarring.

## Abstract

Port wine stain (PWS) is a vascular, benign congenital malformation, which presents at birth and persists for life. PWS usually appears as flat red macule but tend to darken progressively to purple with soft tissue hypertrophy and may often develop disfiguring vascular nodules leading to a reduced quality of life for patients. Therapeutic interventions include the use of different laser systems such as pulsed dye lasers. To report the removal of PWS nodules with CO2 laser. Two PWS patients with nodules were included in the study. A CO2 laser (Unilas Touch, Limmer) was used to vaporize the lesion under local anesthesia. Laser parameters were selected to minimize the risk of potential scarring. The follow up of the patients showed a significant improvement in the skin condition and the nodular areas of the PWS became flatter without notable side effects. The CO2 laser treatment is a safe and effective treatment modality to remove nodules in PWS leading to an improved appearance of facial PWS.