Intramuscular angioma: a clinicopathological analysis of 74 cases

We have studied 74 benign intramuscular angiomas in order to try and correlate clinical behaviour with histological appearances. The purpose was to find means of predicting those which would recur. Mean age at presentation was 17.6 years and 85% of the cases presented before age 30. The male: female ratio was 1.4:1. Anatomical distribution was 32% lower limb, 27% head/neck, 24% upper limb and 17% trunk. Reliable histological subclassification proved impossible since almost all lesions were of mixed type, albeit often with a single predominant vessel type--of which venous (42%) was the most common. Over 90% of the lesions contained a variably prominent adipocytic component. More than 50% of patients suffered local recurrence. Neither predominant vessel type nor anatomical localization correlated with recurrence, which was always due to incomplete excision.