By Dr Linda Rozell-Shannon, PhD, President and Founder, The Vascular Birthmarks Foundation
The Vascular Birthmarks Foundation’s (VBF) Free Laser Clinics are aimed at delivering much-needed access to early intervention for individuals and families living with a vascular birthmark, anomaly, and / or related syndrome (VBARS) in the United States and abroad. Throughout 2022, the VBF serviced 28 US states and 20 countries, providing: 206 free consultations, 120 free laser treatments, 89 free ultrasounds, and 23 free dental exams for those affected by a VBARS.
More than 40 individuals from 16 countries attended the VBF Free Laser Clinic in Milan on 9 December 2022. About 38 of the pre-qualified patients received free laser treatments, 30 received free ultrasounds, and 32 received free Sturge-Weber Syndrome (SWS) consultations. Attending experts included Linda Rozell-Shannon, PhD, President and Founder of the VBF; Giacomo Colletti, MD, DDS, VBF Italy Medical Director and VBF Europe Co-Medical Director, and Associate Professor of Maxillofacial Surgery at UniMORE; Matteo Tretti Clementoni, MD, Founder, CEO, and Medical Director of LaserPlast; Anne Comi, MD, Paediatric Neurologist, Clinical Scientist, and Director of the Hunter Nelson Sturge-Weber Center at Kennedy Krieger Institute and Professor of Neurology and Pediatrics at the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine; and Anna Pinto, MD, PhD, Paediatric Neurologist and published researcher focusing on Sturge-Weber Syndrome, pediatric epilepsy, and developmental disorders at Boston Children’s Hospital’s Department of Neurology, and instructor of Neurology at Harvard Medical School.
The VBF is proud of what it delivered in Milan in partnership with Dr Colletti, one of the leading maxillofacial surgeons in Europe for complex vascular malformations, LaserPlast, and Candela Medical. Candela Medical supported the work of the VBF with the Candela Vbeam Pulsed Dye Laser, which has been helping physicians treat vascular birthmarks for more than 30 years. In alignment with the VBF’s mission to educate physicians and affected families regarding treatment options, a highlight from the event was Dr Linda’s social media video share of a patient receiving a laser treatment. The video is accompanied by a detailed and real-time explanation of the process and procedure from Drs Colletti and Clementoni. Watch the video here: https://youtu.be/hCS42Qxz7hE
In 2023, the VBF is planning clinics to reach the VBARS community in the United States and Europe. The next VBF Free Laser Clinic is the 2023 VBF Houston Free Laser Clinic on Friday 20 January, at the Dermatology and Laser Surgery Center in Houston, TX, with world-renown and award-winning dermatologist Paul M Friedman, MD and his team. The VBF will continue our international free laser / consultation clinics by hosting one in June in Athens, Greece and one back at LaserPlast, in Milan, Italy in November of 2023. For more information about upcoming VBF Free Laser Clinics, please visit: https://birthmark.org/freelaser
