Treatment of hemangiomas in children using a Nd:YAG laser in conjunction with ice cooling of the epidermis: techniques and results

BMC Pediatrics

Georgios Charissis¹  Eleni Michailoudi¹  Stefanos Gardikis¹  Ioannis Vlachakis¹ 

[1] Department of Paediatric Surgery, University Hospital of Heraklion, University of Crete – Medical School, Crete, Greece

关键词: Nd:YAG Laser;    Hemangioma;    Children;   

Others  :  1181736
DOI  :  10.1186/1471-2431-3-2

 received in 2002-11-11, accepted in 2003-04-12,  发布年份 2003

【 摘 要 】

Background

Hemangiomas are the most common type of congenital anomaly in childhood. Although many resolve spontaneously, intervention is required when their growth could damage vital adjacent structures. Various therapeutic approaches to childhood hemangiomas with different types of laser have been described previously. The objective of this study was to determine whether the cooling of the epidermis during irradiation of hemangiomas with a Nd:YAG laser prevents thermal damage and decreases the number of sessions required to treat these lesions.

Methods

Between 1993 and 2001, 110 patients aged 3 months to 4 years, with cutaneous hemangiomas were treated with a Nd:YAG laser. The lesion was cooled with ice prior to, during, and after the irradiation. During each session the laser beam passed through the pieces of ice. The laser power was between 35–45 W with a pulse length of 2–10 seconds.

Results

After 6 months of follow-up, from the first session of laser treatment, total resolution was obtained in 72 (65.5%) patients. A second or third session followed in 30 out of 38 patients in which, the initial results were good, moderate, or poor. The parents of the remaining eight children refused this second session and these patients excluded from the study Complications were seen in nine (8.8%) patients. One patient had postoperative bleeding which stopped spontaneously, while atrophic scars occurred in six (5.8%) patients, and hypertrophic scars in two (1.9%) patients.

Conclusions

Nd:YAG laser irradiation in conjunction with ice protection of the epidermis produces good cosmetic results for the treatment of cutaneous hemangiomas in children, and decreases the number of sessions for treatment of these lesions.

【 授权许可】

   
2003 Vlachakis et al; licensee BioMed Central Ltd. This is an Open Access article: verbatim copying and redistribution of this article are permitted in all media for any purpose, provided this notice is preserved along with the article's original URL.

【 图 表 】

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