Glossary

A mark present from birth. It stays for life with a tendency to thicken and darken with age. The mark is due to a vascular malformation of the superficial capillaries and touches approximately 3 out of 1000 newborns. The mark is pink, flat and develops in proportion to the child's growth. It is important to treat it with a pulsed dye laser. Its light is selectively absorbed by the pathological blood vessels. Thus, it can be eliminated without harming the surrounding tissue of the functional blood vessels. The laser can be used to remove a birth mark in infants, and in young children under the supervision of a dermatologist.