IRVINE : Laser Institute Gets $2-Million Grant
UC Irvine’s Beckman Laser Institute has received a $2-million grant that will be used to treat children with disfiguring birthmarks as well as to conduct research into new treatments.
The David and Lucile Packard Foundation presented the gift to UCI and, in recognition of the grant, the institute’s clinic will be named the David and Lucile Packard Laser Treatment Clinic.
The grant, which will be received in installments over four years, will enable the institute to expand its treatment of children who otherwise could not afford the surgery to remove their port wine birthmarks, said UCI spokeswoman Susan Menning. The money will also be used to pay the annual salaries of a clinical fellow and a research postdoctoral fellow.
Port wine marks are made from blood vessels and become larger as children grow older. The marks can cause both physical and psychological trauma for those who have them, Menning said.
“These can be psychologically devastating,” Menning said. The spots “get bigger and uglier.”
The institute treats the marks by burning them off with a laser. Most children require a number of laser treatments.
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