This Article  • References  • Full text PDF  • Send to a friend  • Save in My Folder  • Save to citation manager  • Permissions  Citing Articles  • Citation map  • Citing articles on HighWire  • Contact me when this article is cited  Related Content  • Similar articles in this journal  Social Bookmarking   What's this?

Immediate Effects

James L. Finley, MD; Kenneth A. Arndt, MD; Joel Noe, MD; Seymour Rosen, MD

Arch Dermatol. 1984;120(5):613-619.

Abstract
• Biopsy specimens from 11 patients with port-wine stains were examined by routine paraffin sections immediately after argon laser therapy, and the findings were correlated with those seen in 1-µm epoxy resin-embedded sections and with immunofluorescence microscopy studies localizing factor VIII-related antigen and type IV collagen. The histopathologic pattern was that of an arc-shaped injury to the papillary and upper reticular dermis, extending to a depth of 0.45 mm. Most of the abnormal vessels in the port-wine stain were encompassed in this zone and showed severe injury. Erythrocytes in these vessels displayed changes, ranging from near normal to complete fragmentation. Focally, vessels adjacent to the area of major injury contained clumped erythrocytes with tinctorial changes but intact walls. In two specimens, alterations in basement membrane and endothelial immunofluorescence staining patterns were present in the zones adjacent to the major cauterized areas, extending focally to a depth of 0.75 mm. This study suggests that, in addition to the major nonspecific destructive component of argon laser therapy, there is a smaller adjacent "specific" zone of damage in which collagenous stroma is maintained and chromophore content becomes important as a determinant of injury.

(Arch Dermatol 1984;120:613-619)

Author Affiliations
From the Departments of Pathology (Drs Finley and Rosen), Surgery (Dr Noe), and Dermatology (Dr Arndt), Beth Israel Hospital and Harvard Medical School, and the Charles A. Dana Institute, Boston. Dr Finley is now with the Department of Pathology, Pitt County Memorial Hospital, Greenville, NC.

Footnotes
Accepted for publication Aug 17, 1983.

Reprint requests to Department of Pathology, Pitt County Memorial Hospital, Greenville, NC 27834 (Dr Finley).

CiteULike    Connotea    Del.icio.us    Digg    Reddit    Technorati    Twitter     What's this?

THIS ARTICLE HAS BEEN CITED BY OTHER ARTICLES

Lasers in Dermatology--1993
Hruza et al.
Arch Dermatol 1993;129:1026-1035.
ABSTRACT  

The Treatment of Port-wine Stains by the Pulsed Dye Laser: Analysis of Pulse Duration and Long-term Therapy
Garden et al.
Arch Dermatol 1988;124:889-896.
ABSTRACT  

Advances in Laser Skin Surgery for Vascular Lesions
Keller et al.
Arch Otolaryngol Head Neck Surg 1985;111:437-440.
ABSTRACT  

Port-wine Stains: Morphologic Variations and Developmental Lesions
Finley et al.
Arch Dermatol 1984;120:1453-1455.
ABSTRACT