Port Wine Stains

Dr. Ann Chapas and Dr. Roy Geronemus are featured as the cover story "Efficacy of Early Treatment of Facial Port Wine Stain in Newborns: A Review of 49 cases" in Lasers in Surgery and Medicine. The official journal of the American Society for Laser Medicine and Surgery.

Dr. Geronemus and Dr. Chapas receive Award for Best Clinical Science Paper

Roy G. Geronemus, M.D. and Anne M. Chapas, M.D. will receive the Best Overall Clinical Science Paper on behalf of the Laser & Skin Surgery Center of New York. The paper entitled “Efficacy Of Early Treatment Of Facial Port-Wine Stains In Newborns: A Review Of 49 Cases” has been selected by the American Society for Laser Medicine and Surgery as the Best Overall Clinical Science Paper submitted for the 27th Annual Conference.

Dr. Chapas will be presented with this prestigious award at the time of the Presidential Awards/Citations during the ASLMS annual meeting on Friday, April 13, 2007 during the Plenary Session (10:30 a.m. – 11:45 a.m.) in the Grapevine C&D Ballroom at the Gaylord Texan Resort and Convention Center.

The Laser and Skin Surgery Center of New York is pleased to announce that we have added two V-Beam Perfectas to our existing group of lasers.
These lasers provide another option for our physicians in the treatment of port wine stains, hemangiomas, and other vascular birthmarks.
One of the advantages of these lasers are that they allow for the consistent delivery of high energy and utilize a larger spot size. In addition, the other characteristics of V-Beam technology remain including a variable pulsewidth and a variety of spot sizes and energy fluences. These devices are used with the dynamic cooling spray which allows for the safe delivery of higher energy fluences. Our physicians have worked with Candela laser in the development of this device.

The Laser & Skin Surgery Center of New York is pleased to introduce the Cynergy laser for the treatment of port wine stains
This laser utilizes a combination of two different wavelengths, commonly found in two separate and distinct lasers. Both the 595 nm and 1064 nm wavelengths are used simultaneously with sequential pulses when this laser is utilized. The advantage of this laser is that it allows for deeper penetration of the laser beam and minimizes the post-operative bruising seen in laser treatments relative to standard treatments with the pulsed dye lasers that are available today. This procedure requires topical and oral anesthesia and generally leaves a brusing effect that could be as short as two days with significant improvement noted in most patients. At this point in time, the Cynergy laser treatment is limited to adults only.

The physicians and staff of the Laser & Skin Surgery Center of New York are dedicated to the treatment of patients with port wine stains and other vascular birthmarks
Our staff specializes in the treatment of this condition and has had experience of approximately 23 years in the treatment of port wine stains in all ages and parts of the body. The Laser & Skin Surgery Center of New York offers a variety of laser systems with anesthesia or topical anesthesia for the treatment of these conditions. Most of the procedures are performed in the office setting while general anesthesia services are available for our patients at the New York Eye & Ear Infirmary.

The Laser & Skin Surgery Center of New York was featured on the CBS Early Show Wednesday, February 25th and Thursday, February 26th, 2004.
The segment follows one of Dr. Geronemus' patients through a treatment performed on a port wine stain.

The physicians at the Laser & Skin Surgery Center of New York specialize in the treatment of birthmarks including port wine stains and hemangiomas. We can offer a wide variety of lasers and light sources for treatment as well as physicians and staff that are amongst the world's most experienced. Our laser/light equipment includes three V-Beam lasers with the dynamic cooling spray, the Cynosure laser, the Gemini KTP laser, the Alexandrite laser and an intense pulse light source. Our treatments are performed in the office as well as at the New York Eye & Ear Infirmary for those patients requiring general anesthesia. Treatments in the office are performed with either topical anesthesia (EMLA or Elamax), local anesthesia or none. We begin treatment in early infancy to facilitate the optimum response and ultimate outcome. Typically, multiple treatments are required and a complete cure is not always possible. Treatment intervals will vary based upon the variety of factors including the diagnosis, location of the birthmark, and the age of the patient. Our physicians have helped develop many, if not most, of he laser technology available today for the treatment of birthmarks. We continually offer the most current treatment for our patients in this rapidly evolving field. In fact, our high powered V-Beam is exclusively available to the patients of our practice.

We believe that most treatments of port wine stains and hemangiomas are medically necessary and should be covered by insurance. Our office staff will assist you in obtaining insurance coverage, however, this is not always possible considering today's environment.

Port Wine Stains References

Lou W, Geronemus R. Treatment of port-wine stains by variable pulse width pulsed dye laser with cryogen spray: a preliminary study. Dermatol Surg 27:963-965, 2001.

Geronemus R, Lou W, Quintana A, Kauvar A. High fluence modified pulsed dye laser photocoagulation with dynamic cooling of port wine stains in infancy. Arch Dermatol 136:942-943, 2000.

Miller C, Pitten F, Watson H, Geronemus R. Stress and family satisfaction in parents of children with facial port wine stains. Ped Dermatol 16(3):190-197, 1999.

Kauvar A, Geronemus R. Treatment of port wine stains. N Engl J Med 339:635-636, 1998.

Waldorf H, Alster T, Kauvar A, Geronemus R, Nelson S. Effect of dynamic cooling on 585 nm pulsed dye laser treatment of port-wine stain birthmarks. Dermatol Surg 23:657-662, 1997.

Kauvar A, Waldorf H, Geronemus R. Effect of 7 mm vs. 5 mm spot size on pulsed dye laser treatment of port-wine stains and hemangiomas. Lasers Surg Med 7:56, 1995.

Kauvar A, Geronemus R. Pulsed dye laser therapy of resistant port-wine stains, Dermatol Surg 21:515-521, 1995.

Renfro LR, Geronemus RG, Kauvar AB. Anatomical differences of port-wine stains located on the trunk and extremities in response to treatment with the pulsed dye laser (abstr.) Laser Surg Med 14(suppl 6):47, 1994.

Renfro L, Geronemus R. Anatomical differences in the treatment of port wine stains with the pulsed dye laser. Arch Dermatol 129:182-188, 1993.

Geronemus R. The flashlamp-pumped pulsed dye laser in the treatment of cutaneous vascular disorders. Monografias de Dermatologia 5(1):34-39, 1992.

Holy A, Geronemus R. Treatment of peri-orbital port wine stains utilizing the flashlamp-pumped pulsed dye laser. Arch Ophthal 110:793-797, 1992.

Ashinoff R, Geronemus R. Treatment of a port wine stain in a black patient with the pulsed dye laser. J Derm Surg Oncol 18:147-148, 1992.

Ashinoff R, Geronemus R. Flashlamp-pumped pulsed dye laser for port wine stains in infancy: Earlier versus later treatment. J Am Acad Dermatol 24:467-472, 1991.

Ashinoff R, Geronemus R. Capillary hemangiomas and treatment with the flashlamp-pumped pulsed dye laser. Arch Dermatol 127:202-205, 1991.

Geronemus R, Ashinoff R. The medical necessity of the evaluation and treatment of port wine stains. J Derm Surg Oncol 17:76-79, 1991.

Reyes B, Geronemus R. Treatment of port wine stains during childhood with the flashlamp-pumped pulsed dye laser. J Am Acad Dermatol 23:1142-1148, 1990.

Garden J, Burton C, Geronemus R. The use of the pulsed dye laser for the treatment of port-wine stains in children. N Engl J Med 321:901-902, 1989.