The treatment of port wine stains with the carbon dioxide laser.

The carbon dioxide (CO2) laser was used to treat 51 patients with port wine stains (PWS). Twenty-nine patients were adults who had failed to respond to argon or continuous wave dye laser therapy and 22 patients were children with pink PWS. Follow-up assessment of 40 patients 12 months after treatment revealed an excellent or good result in 74% of adults and 53% of children. The results in adult 'therapeutic failures' was encouraging and CO2 laser therapy can be advised for this group. Two children had a poor result, one with a hypertrophic scar, and treatment in this age group with the CO2 laser should be considered with caution.