Abstract
BACKGROUND: The pulsed dye laser (PDL) is widely regarded as the gold standard treatment for port wine stain (PWS); however, its therapeutic efficacy exhibits considerable variability. Recent research indicates that hemoglobin-mediated photodynamic therapy (HMME-PDT) is emerging as a highly promising treatment modality for PWS. This retrospective study aims to evaluate and compare the clinical efficacy and safety profiles of HMME-PDT and 595 nm-PDL in the management of PWS. METHODS: This study retrospectively analyzed a total of 850 patients with PWS treated with 595 nm-PDL and 279 patients with PWS treated with HMME-PDT at the Skin Laser Beauty Center of the First Affiliated Hospital of Anhui Medical University from January 2015 to December 2024. RESULTS: In total, the cure rate, the total significant response rate, and the total response rate were 22.22%, 54.12%, and 88.89%, respectively, in the HMME-PDT group, which were obviously higher than those in the 595 nm PDL group (9.65%, 31.29%, and 68.94%, respectively) with the P values as 0.001, 0.001, and 0.001. After total treatments, the different subtype and location had different responses to 595 nm-PDL, the different age and locations had different responses to HMME-PDT. Generally speaking, the therapeutic effect of HMME-PDT was better than that of PDL therapy under the different number of treatments. CONCLUSIONS: Both 595 nm-PDL and HMME-PDT demonstrate significant efficacy in the treatment of PWS. Our single-center retrospective study indicated that HMME-PDT may offer superior efficacy compared to 595 nm-PDL treatment. Further research is warranted to fully elucidate the true value of HMME-PDT and 595 nm-PDL for PWS.