[Surgical treatment of vascular malformations]

In spite of the numerous advances made over the last two decades, the treatment of congenital vascular malformations continues to be one of the greatest enigmas facing modern medicine. There are no clear criteria concerning the indications to be followed, and even less concerning the most appropriate therapeutic procedures for each type of lesion. The results of a strictly surgical approach are discouraging and today it is accepted that congenital vascular malformations should be attended to and treated by multidisciplinary units, combining the efforts of all the specialists involved in its treatment. This paper reviews the general principles of surgical treatment of congenital vascular malformations, without losing sight of the fact that the traditional role of isolated surgery in the treatment of congenital vascular malformations has been replaced by a multidisciplinary approach to this type of lesions, making it possible to integrate embolization, sclerotherapy and surgery to improve the results. The combination of these techniques reduces the risk and complications that existed when they were applied in an isolated form. Thus, surgical treatment should not be considered as an independent tool of treatment but as a therapeutic weapon integrated in the ensemble of measures directed at improving the quality of life of the patient with a congenital vascular malformation.