Tufted angioma: a report of five cases

Tufted angioma is a rare, benign, vascular tumor, characterized histologically by tufts of capillary-sized vessels in the dermis. Five patients were diagnosed over a 10-year period. All developed the lesions within the first year of life. Four were Chinese and one was Indian. There was no sex predilection. All the lesions occurred on the limbs, mainly proximally, with 40% affecting the upper and 60% the lower limbs. The appearance ranged from erythematous, indurated, annular nodules to plaques. In two patients the lesions had overlying red papules, and hypertrichosis was present in three cases. The lesions were tender in all patients. No complications such as ulceration, bleeding, or Kasabach-Merritt syndrome occurred. All were treated conservatively, with improvement in tenderness in three of four patients after a period of 5 months to 4 years. Decrease in size occurred in one of four patients after 2 years. Our series differs from previous ones in that all the patients developed the lesions before the age of 1 year, all lesions occurred on the limbs, and all were tender. Tenderness and hypertrichosis, in addition to induration, may be useful in the clinical differentiation from common hemangioma.