How Effective is Pulsed Dye Laser for Cherry Hemangiomas?

The pulsed dye laser in considered the gold standard for treatment of vascular lesions like cherry angiomas. It has an excellent safety record and can remove cherry angiomas in one treatment, unless they are very large. Other choices include

Nd:YAG
KTP lasers
IPL

Having used all of these devices, I recommend the pulsed dye laser or Nd:YAG.
Best of luck!

Hemangiomas are benign (not cancerous) proliferative vascular tumors of infancy.  Generally, they are not present at birth but shortly after birth enter a 6 - 12 month growth phase.  From 12 - 24 months they stay about the same size and from 24 months to 6 - 8 years of age they gradually involute.  Hemangiomas vary widely in their clinical presentation from small, flat, self limiting lesions to large/massive, ulcerated, pedunculated tumors. 

Treatment of hemangiomas also varies widely depending on the size and location of the hemangioma as well as the phase the hemangioma is in:  proliferative or involutional.  Hemangiomas can be treated with medication in the proliferative phase using either steroids (hydrocortisone) or Beta blockers (propranolol).  These drugs do have side effects and their use should be carefully monitored by the treating physician. 

Hemangiomas can then be evaluated for treatment which could include a watch and wait approach, early or delayed laser therapy to minimize scar consequences, or surgery. 

Laser treatment of hemangiomas has several advantages over traditional excisional surgery:  eliminate blood loss, safely treat a hemangioma which is involving critical structures (example facial nerve), and minimize scarring.  The goal of laser therapy is to remove disfiguring color from the hemangioma and reduce the size, making it blend with the surrounding skin as perfectly as possible.

The pulsed dye laser is generally used to treat the red color of hemangiomas.  This laser is very superficial and penetrates only 0.7mm into the skin making it ineffective in treating the underlying mass.  The Nd:YAG laser can be used in combination with the pulsed dye laser to treat the deeper component and mass effect of the hemangioma.  Using a 5 - 7mm spot size, the Nd:YAG laser can penetrate about a 10mm.  A combination of these two lasers of most effective. 

As with most lasers, repeat treatments are almost always necessary.  These treatment are spaced about 6 - 8 weeks apart to allow all swelling to resolve before repeating the treatment.  Photographic documentation is extremely helpful in evaluating the progess and in planning future procedures.

Cherry angiomas are common and are best treated with pulse dye laser or Yag laser.  These laser target the red blood vessels and vaporize them. Downtime is minimal.