Medizinische Universität Graz Austria/Österreich - Forschungsportal - Medical University of Graz
Gewählte Publikation:
Rizaj, D.
Treatment of vascular malformations in childhood and adolescence
CHILDHOOD AND ADOLESCENCE
Humanmedizin; [ Diplomarbeit ] Medical University of Graz; 2014. pp. 75
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- Autor*innen der Med Uni Graz:
- Betreuer*innen:
- Haxhija Emir
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- Abstract:
- Abstract Background: Vascular malformations are congenital developmental defects of vasculogenesis, angiogenesis and lymphangiogenesis. They are present at birth, grow in proportion with the child and never regress. The congenital vascular malformations may be localized or infiltrative. They may occur anywhere in the body, especially in the head and neck region, extremities and the trunk. Materials and Methods: A retrospective study of patients treated during the period of 01.01.1991 – 31.12.2010 was performed. All children with vascular malformations, who have been treated at the Department of Pediatric and Adolescent surgery of the Medical University Graz were included into this study. During the acquisition of the data these parameters were analyzed: the discharge diagnosis, the clinical presentation, the results of conducted imaging, the histological findings, as well as the outcome after operative or non-operative therapy. The data have been analyzed by descriptive statistics and compared with the current literature. Results: During the study period 97 patients were treated. The gender distribution of females to males was 1.1:1. The types of vascular malformations were as follows: lymphatic malformations (LM) in 38.1%, venous malformations (VM) in 25.7%, arteriovenous malformations (AVM) in 17.5%, capillary malformations (CM) in 5.1% and combined vascular malformations in 13.4% of patients. Anatomic distributions of these lesions were as follows: in 22% in the head and neck region, in trunk in 31% and all together in the upper and lower extremities in 45% of the patients. The following radiological diagnostic procedures were used: magnetic resonance imaging - angiography (MRI -MRA) in 53% and ultrasonography (US) in 38%. Also helpful were X-rays in 5% and CT in 4% of patients. The preferred treatment modality was complete surgical resection in 66% of patients, followed by partial resection in 9%, lasertherapy alone or in combination with other modalities in 7%, sclerotherapy in 3%, embolization in 2% and non-operative therapy in 13% of patients. Conclusion: For successful treatment of patients with vascular malformations it is crucially important to be able to use all different treatment modalities alone or in combination, with a main goal to completely cure the patients and avoid the recurrence of these lesions.