Psychosocial Stress of Patients with Port Wine Stains and Expectations of Dye Laser Treatment

Abstract

Background: Port wine stains can be treated successfully with the dye laser in most cases. The indication for treatment is made on the basis of the emotional stress arising from the port wine stain. Studies of the extent of psychosocial stress to date have led to contradictory results. Objective: To address the question how many patients with port wine stain suffer psychosocial stress and how this group can further be characterized. Moreover, the specific expectations of treatment were to be elucidated. Methods: During dye laser treatment, 76 patients with port wine stains were evaluated by questionnaires regarding (a) emotional well-being, (b) quality of life, (c) body perception and (d) disease-specific stress and expectations of therapy. Results: Patients with port wine stains showed significantly higher emotional stress than healthy controls. They were particularly impaired in quality of life with respect to their social life and felt less attractive than a healthy control group. Patients with high emotional stress placed high hopes on the laser therapy with regard to chances of employment and social contacts. Conclusion: The data point to the need for thorough patient consultation prior to laser therapy in order to avoid excessive expectations. Psychological consultation is recommended for emotionally labile PWS patients.

German Adaptation of the Skindex-29 Questionnaire on Quality of Life in Dermatology: Validation and Clinical Results

“…In dermatology, studies have shown that HRQOL can be severely reduced in patients with a great variety of different skin diseases such as atopic dermatitis and psoriasis [3], acne vulgaris [4, 5], urticaria [6], skin tumours [7], port wine stains [8], onychomycosis [9]or chronic venous insufficiency and leg ulcers [10, 11, 12, 13]. Domains of everyday life that may be affected by skin diseases include aspects of physical and emotional well-being, the patients’ social life as well as their level of functioning at work or school.…”

The depth measuring videomicroscope (DMV): A non‐invasive tool for the assessment of capillary vascular malformations

“…They are believed to have a genetic basis [2] and occur in between 1 and 3 per 1,000 live births [3]. They cause considerable psychological distress [4] and patients and their parents frequently seek treatment. The mainstay of treatment for CVMs remains the pulsed dye laser [5][6][7].…”

Port wine stain treatment with a dual‐wavelength Nd:Yag laser and cryogen spray cooling: A pilot study

“…From the clinical point of view, however, significant PWS blanching and patient's evaluation of treatment outcome are most important. Some patients with PWS are particularly impaired with respect to their social life, and have high hopes for laser therapy with regard to improved chances for employment and social contacts [16]. This may explain why patients graded treatment outcomes more favourably than the independent evaluator.…”