Introduction Pulsed dye laser (PDL) treatment is based on the principle of selective photothermolysis and is widely considered to be the treatment of choice for a variety of cutaneous vascular lesions.
Objective To review the indications and outcome of PDL treatment and summarise new developments.
Method A literature-based study has been conducted entailing the review of publications over the period January 1993–December 2003 using the databases Medline and Cochrane CENTRAL.
Results The PDL was found to be effective in port wine stain, facial telangiectasia, leg telangiectasia <0.5 mm, scars, hypertrophic scars and ulcerated haemangioma.
Discussion Essential characteristics of lesions suitable for PDL treatment are discussed and guidelines are presented for future research.