[Port wine hemangioma].

Port wine stains are mainly due to an increase in the number or size of dermal capillary vessels. They are a natural disgrace which, in their most common form (i.e. isolated and non-systematized), requires a cosmetic treatment. It is for this purpose that various therapies were formerly prescribed with inconstant results. Since the development of lasers, notably the argon laser and, most recently, the pulsed dye laser, these treatments have become obsolete. Before they fall into oblivion, it must be remembered that until the seventies radiotherapy was part of the old methods and that all cases of port wine stain now seen in adults must be followed up with particular attention if they have received radiotherapy in their childhood.