3D imaging captures changes in port wine stains

(HealthDay)—Three-dimensional (3D) high precision surface imaging can be used to monitor changes in the area and volume of port wine stains following laser treatment, according to a study published online Oct. 24 in Lasers in Surgery and Medicine.

Alice Frigerio, M.D., Ph.D., from Harvard Medical School in Boston, and colleagues performed a retrospective review involving 55 consecutive patients with 59 port wine stains treated over a 20-month time period. 3D surface imaging photogrammetric software was used to measure the area and volume of the lesions before and after a series of sequential pulsed dye laser and/or alexandrite laser treatments.

The researchers found that the initial average measured area was 44.3 cm², which decreased significantly to a final average measured area of 36.9 cm² (P < 0.001). For all port wine stains, the average volume change was 1.20 cc, while for lesions that received five or more laser treatments within the study period, the average volume change was 1.90 cc.

"Future studies to determine if statistically significant changes correlate with clinically appreciable changes are warranted," the authors write.