Birthmark

Birthmarks can have various causes, however the specific cause will depend on the type. These can be categorised into vascular or pigmented. Vascular birthmarks such as port wine stains will develop due to abnormal blood vessels during early foetal development. Pigmented lesions such as Café-au-lait spots will develop due to an abnormal overgrowth of pigmentation cells during foetal development.

Birthmarks can be effectively treated with a pulsed Dye Laser, such as Regenlite. As the laser is pulsed onto the skin it targets the blood vessels or pigment. This results in a heating up and coagulation of the blood or pigment. Over a period of time the body’s natural wound healing process will remove the damaged vessels and pigment cells and the birthmark will start to fade. The number of sessions will depend on the size, location and depth of the birthmark. Treatment is normally tolerated well and there will be a month between treatment sessions to allow the body to remove any damaged vessels or pigmentation in preparation for the next treatment. In most cases there will be a gradual fading of the birthmark between treatment sessions.

Following the successful removal of a birthmark it is unlikely that it will return. It will be depending on the size and depth of the birthmark and treatment method. For vascular birthmarks there may be some residual staining under the skin that may remain or resolve with time.