An Observational Study as to the Effects of Cutaneous Air-cooling on Blood Vessel Diameter in Capillary Malformations

Capillary malformation (CM) is the most common vascular malformation occurring in approximately 0.3% of all newborn. The standard treatment for facial or aesthetically sensitive CM's is flashlamp Pulsed Dye Laser. Skin cooling prior to laser treatment of CMs is standard practice within our department. The effects of skin cooling on the vasculature within CMs are poorly understood. Previous studies by our department have shown that raising ambient temperature increases CM vessel size. It has been postulated that by increasing CM vessel size, it may also increase the effectiveness of treatment. We hypothesize that cooling the skin during laser treatment may cause vasconstriction of the superficial vessels within the CM. This may have an impact on treatment success.