Port-wine stain

Injury	Disease	Nutrition	Poison

Symptoms	Surgery	Test	Special Topic

Port wine stain on a child's face

Sturge-Weber syndrome - legs

Port-wine stain

Definition:

A port-wine stain is a vascular (containing vessels) birthmark made of enlarged capillaries in the skin, which produce a reddish-purplish discoloration of the skin.

Alternative Names:

Nevus flammeus

Causes, incidence, and risk factors:

Port-wine stains (PWS) are present at birth. The rate is 3 out of 1,000 people. Port-wine stains occur most often on the face but can appear anywhere on the body. Early stains are usually flat and pink in appearance. As the child matures, the color may deepen to a dark red or purplish color.

PWS may cause emotional and social problems for the affected person because of their appearance. Port-wine stains that involve the upper and lower lids (trigeminal distribution) may be associated with the development of glaucoma.

PWS may be one of a group of symptoms and signs, perhaps as part of a syndrome such as Sturge-Weber syndrome or Klippel-Trenaunay-Weber syndrome.

Review Date: 7/22/2005
Reviewed By: Jonathan Kantor, M.D., Department of Dermatology, University of Pennsylvania Medical Center, Philadelphia, PA. Review provided by VeriMed Healthcare Network.

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