[Musculoskeletal vascular malformations in children]

This study on vascular malformations of the musculoskeletal system in children is concerned with the disease diagnosis and evaluation of treatment results in a group of pediatric patients.

Eighteen children with musculoskeletal vascular malformations, treated at the Department of Orthopedics in Hradec Králové, were assessed. The relevant data were obtained from their medical notes and the children were examined at the outpatient department.

The initial complaints leading to examination at our department, diagnostic methods used and outcomes of vascular malformation treatment were investigated. Special attention was paid to the results of treatment for unequal leg length.

The most frequent initial complaint was a painful, growing, hard tissue mass on either an upper or a lower extremity. In addition to clinical and angiographic diagnostic methods, also Doppler sonography and magnetic resonance imaging were used. Therapy by intervention radiology (selective embolization or sclerotherapy) resulted in reduction of the lesion and subsidence of the signs in 76 % of the patients. In the rest (24 %), the clinical findings did not change. It was necessary to repeat these methods twice to four-times. The best results were achieved by combining intervention radiology and a subsequent excision of the malformation. Of the four patients, only one experienced recurrence after 11 years. Four children were successfully treated for unequal leg length by temporary epiphyseodesis of the proximal tibia which, in one, had to be completed with shortening osteotomy of the proximal femur performed after skeletal maturation.

There is great inconsistency in the classification of vascular malformations as well as in views on their therapy. The increasing role of magnetic resonance imaging for the diagnosis of vascular malformations is apparent, and our results fully support this fact. Intervention radiology techniques still remain the prevailing methods of treatment. In our experience, the best results are achieved by their combination with an excision of the lesion. When unequal leg length is treated, temporary epiphyseodesis is recommended; if this is preceded by treatment of the malformation, the final discrepancy in leg length is smaller.

The correct diagnosis and treatment of vascular malformations and their sequelae are based on inter-disciplinary cooperation. The use of magnetic resonance imaging for diagnosis is recommended. Good results are achieved by a combination of intervention radiology methods with lesion excision. Temporary epiphyseodesis is the method of choice for treatment of unequal leg length.