Huang Y, Yang J, Sun L, et al. - Port-wine stains (PWS) can be effectively treated with hemoporfin-mediated photodynamic therapy (HMME-PDT). Patients having a history of more than five treatments, lip hypertrophy, and linear or reticular vessels under the dermoscope indicated a link to poor efficacy.

• In total, 212 patients [93 males; mean age 13.01 ± 12.67 years (range, 1–51)] with facial PWS who underwent HMME-PDT were retrospectively analyzed.

• There were 143 cases of red PWS, 56 of purple PWS, and 13 of hypertrophic-type PWS.

• The number of HMME-PDT sessions varied from 1 to 6. After 1–4 PDT sessions, the excellent response rate was 9.4%, 17.6%, 32.7%, and 42.9%, respectively.

• The number of PDT treatments is linked to efficacy, and patients who received therapy for more than three sessions had a better reaction than those who had treatment for fewer than three sessions.

• After two treatment sessions, patients of various ages, previous treatment histories, lip involvement, and vessel morphology showed significant differences, whereas patients of various genders, subtypes, lesion sizes, location (medial, lateral, or mixed), and non-vascular morphology showed no significant differences.

• According to logistic regression analysis, patients with lip hypertrophy, a history of more than five prior treatments, fewer PDT sessions (< 3), linear vessels, and reticular vessels had a poor response to HMME-PDT.