Deciphering Birthmark No.2—- Coffee Spot

  Moving on from the last time we talked about “birthmarks”, today I would like to introduce you to the second pigmented (black) birthmark — coffee spots.  Café-au-lait Spots, also known as Milk Café Spots (Café-au-lait Spots) in professional terminology, the cause is not very clear yet, and the incidence in the population is about 10-20%. Most of them are only a kind of pigmented skin damage, but a few of them can occur in combination with systemic diseases such as multiple neurofibromatosis, tuberous sclerosis or Albright syndrome.  (1) The skin lesion characteristics: (1) at birth or from early childhood.  (2) Can occur in any part of the body.  (3) Most of them are light brown spots of several millimeters to several centimeters in size, with regular edges, different shapes and smooth surfaces. Note: If 6 or more café au lait spots larger than 1.5cm in diameter appear on the baby’s skin (the diameter of prepubertal patients is larger than 0.5cm), parents should bring the child to the clinic, except for the possibility of combined neurofibromatosis if necessary.  For aesthetic reasons, 510nm pulsed dye laser, 532nm frequency doubled Nd:YAG laser, 694nm Q-switched ruby laser or 755nm Q-switched emerald laser can be used for “blackening” laser treatment.