British journal of plastic surgery
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Twenty patients aged between 2 years and 17 years (mean 9 years) with pigmented birthmarks, mainly of the head and neck, were treated with the PLDL-1 laser (Pigmented Lesion Dye Laser--Candela Corporation, Wayland, Massachusetts, USA) which emits light with a wavelength of 510 nanometers and a pulse duration of 300 +/- 50 nano-seconds. Nine patients (45%) showed excellent results after a test-patch was performed. ⋯ Six patients (30%) showed no improvement and 3 patients (15%) showed some hyperpigmentation at the test-patch sites which had not disappeared at 6 months follow-up. There was no change in the clinical behaviour at 6 months follow-up and no evidence of scarring was encountered.