Vascular Malformations and Hemangiomas

Examples of vascular malformations are port-wine stain (including Sturge-Weber syndrome) and cystic hygromas (lymphatic malformation). Sturge-Weber syndrome is a facial port-wine stain that can involve the brain and produce glaucoma or seizures. It needs to be evaluated closely by a pediatric plastic surgeon as well as a neurologist.

Lymphatic malformations can interfere with the body’s ability to remove bacteria from body tissues. Vascular malformations affect boys and girls at the same rate. Although present at birth, they may not be detected during pregnancy.

Vascular anomalies do not go away without treatment and unfortunately don't respond to steroids, interferon or other medication therapies. Vascular laser treatments are excellent for treating vascular malformations. Because these malformations grow throughout a child's life, they require multiple treatments with the laser.

Our surgeons frequently work with pediatric radiologists to optimize the treatment of these lesions when surgery is required. We may order an MRI study and a special blood vessel study to evaluate the lymphangioma or vascular malformation prior to any therapy.

Before surgery, the surgeon will consult the interventional radiology unit for either percutaneous sclerotherapy or intravascular embolization, which decreases the size of the lesion and the amount of bleeding. Using a multidisciplinary approach reduces the number of surgeries needed and the amount of overall scarring. 

A hemangioma is a benign tumor caused by an overgrowth of the cells that line the blood vessels. A hemangioma initially appears as a small birthmark or scratch and affects one in every 2,000 newborns. Girls are three times more likely to develop hemangiomas than boys. About 60% of hemangiomas occur on the head or neck area, and 10% of affected babies have more than one hemangioma.

Hemangiomas typically grow quickly and often unpredictably. They all shrink eventually, but it can take up to seven years for a hemangioma to completely disappear. 

Hemangiomas cause problems when located near the eyes, ears, nose or mouth. They may also present problems when located on a joint (may limit range of motion of the joint) or on pressure points.

To stunt the growth, shrink or remove a hemangioma, options include medication therapy with steroids or propranolol, vascular laser therapy or in severe cases, surgery. The surgeon may order an MRI scan to assess the involvement of blood vessels shared with other organs.