Comparing the therapeutic effect of pulsed dye laser and pulsed dye laser plus CO2 in port wine stain

Introduction
One of the most common congenital vascular abnormalities in the dermal area of the skin is the port-wine stain (PWS). Aim: Researchers are trying to introduce more effective new methods of treatment of PWS.

Material and methods
This clinical trial study was conducted on 60 patients in Huanggang Central Hospital during May 2020 to June 2021. Pulsed dye laser (PDL) only and PDL plus CO2 methods were used to treat PWS, the clearance scores of patients were assessed for both methods, and the side effects were examined.

Results
The mean age of the patients was 26.87 ±9.67 years. The majority of the patients (80%) were female. Thirty-four (56.66%) patients had PWS in the malar area, 14 (23.33%) on their forehead, 5 (8.33%) on their chin, and 7 (11.7%) on neck. The efficacy of the treatment through clearance score shows that the quantitative mean of the clearance score of the patients in the PDL method was 2.71 ±0.54, and in the CO2 + PDL method it was 2.72 ±0.56 (p > 0.05). The qualitative comparison of clearance scores indicated that in the PDL method, 18 (30%) patients had acceptable clearance, 30 (50%) patients had good clearance, and 12 (20%) patients had excellent clearance. Also, for the PDL plus CO2 method, 25 (41.766) patients had acceptable clearance, 23 (38.34%) patients had good clearance, and 12 (20%) patients had excellent clearance.

Conclusions
For PWS patients under treatment with PDL plus CO2, the hyperpigmentation side effect was greater than in patients with underlying PDL only.