[Interdisciplinary concept for classification and treatment of vascular anomalies in the head and neck]

In patients with extended vascular anomalies in the head and neck, therapeutic decisions may pose a challenge to maxillofacial surgeons, dermatologists, and interventional radiologists. We analyzed the value of an interdisciplinary classification and treatment concept.

The classification distinguishes hemangiomas and vascular malformations. Whereas hemangiomas are endothelial proliferations, vascular malformations are considered to be developmental anomalies, which are further classified into high-flow or low-flow lesions and according to the vascular channels into capillary, venous, or lymphatic malformations. Since 2000 we have provided interdisciplinary consultation for patients with vascular anomalies. In patients with hemangiomas and venous malformations, the clinical diagnosis is confirmed by color-coded duplex sonography and magnetic resonance imaging; angiography is performed as part of the treatment planning for patients with arteriovenous malformations. Patients with hemangiomas are treated surgically by cryosurgery or laser surgery or conservatively according to lesion size and behavior. In patients with venous malformations, percutaneous sclerotherapy is combined with surgical reduction; patients with arteriovenous malformations undergo transarterial embolization prior to surgical excision of the nidus.

A total of 73 patients attended the interdisciplinary consultation. This group included 53 patients with facial hemangiomas, 7 with venous malformations, 2 with capillary malformations, 5 with lymphatic malformations, and 6 with high-flow arteriovenous malformations.

The interdisciplinary protocol increases diagnostic accuracy and helps to establish individual treatment plans for patients with extended vascular anomalies.