Red or purple birthmarks or Port Wine Stains (PWS) are vascular malformations that cause an overproduction of capillaries on the skin, some have an internal vascular component as well . In neonates, these can be treated with oral Beta blockers as well as laser treatments.
At Laserway on Davey, we have the Prima by Candela which is the latest state of the art pulsed dye laser at 595nm and is considered gold standard for the treatment of PWS.
This laser can rupture the abnormal vessels, producing an immediate bruise which can cause the lesion to look very dark for two weeks – this setting can produce results faster but treatment parameters can be modified if it is not convenient to have down time with bruising. PWS's require multiple treatments as the number of vessels is so large and the lesions can be quite thick.
Most red birthmarks qualify for a Medicare rebate.
