A Texas woman with a large port wine facial stain was to undergo copper vapor laser surgery. The patient's dermatologist noted that test spots should be performed first at minimal exposure to the laser. The test spots were not done and the surgery was performed in full, resulting in hypertrophic scarring over a large portion of the patient's face. A medQuest dermatologist reported that test areas were in fact required for this type of laser surgery. Had the test spots been done, scarring would have been prevented or restricted to a very small area.