Pediatric Vascular Conditions

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What are Pediatric Vascular Conditions?

• These are benign skin conditions in children that result from abnormal development of blood vessels. These include vascular anomalies like hemangiomas, and also vascular malformations such as capillary malformations (Port-Wine Stains), venous malformations, lymphatic malformations, AV (arteriovenous) malformations, or a combination of malformed vasculature.
  • Hemangiomas appear shortly after birth. They grow rapidly in size, stabilize after a period of time, and then gradually fade away over the course of 5-7 years.
  • Vascular malformations are often present at birth and tend to grow steadily with the child without significant change over the course of their life.

What are the symptoms of pediatric vascular conditions?

• Changes in skin color
• Pain or discomfort
• Localized swelling or a visible skin lesion

What are the treatment options for pediatric vascular conditions?

Treatment options vary depending on the condition. Your Plastic Surgery provider will evaluate your child and then discuss options with you. Some options for treatment include the following:

• Observation and monitoring: Some conditions do not cause any problematic symptoms and may simply need to be watched as the child grows.
• Medical management: Medications like beta-blockers are sometimes used to manage hemangiomas until they can fade away.
• Laser Therapy: Certain lesions like capillary malformations and hemangiomas can be treated with laser therapy. The laser specifically targets the color red and therefore targets the problematic blood vessels leaving the surrounding normal tissue untouched. This allows the lesion to fade or resolve without surgery.
• Sclerotherapy: Lymphatic malformations and some venous malformations can be injected with a treatment that shrinks the blood vessels from within.
• Surgical Excision: Surgical excision of a malformation can be considered for certain types of vascular problems when other treatment options have failed or are not an option.