Popescu Technique Revisited: Review of the Literature and Case Series

Management of vascular malformations depends on the size, type, age of the patient, location, dissemination, and depth of penetration. Treatment options include propranolol, which reduces endothelial vessel proliferation, minimally invasive sclerotherapy to induce fibrosis, or surgery. In 1985, Valerian Popescu described a new approach to treatment consisting of intratumoral ligation by compartmentalization. This technique allows for high doses of the sclerosant agent to be delivered as systemic dissemination is restricted by a series of strangulating suture loops that divide the mass into segments. We describe the management and outcome of 2 patients who presented with vascular malformations in the orofacial region and were managed using a Popescu suturing technique. Vascular obliteration was achieved by a series of strangulating suture loops placed percutaneously throughout each lesion using a curved needle with a resorbable material (Vicryl; Ethicon, Somerville, NJ). The aim was to segment the vascular malformation into manageable sections for subsequent injection of a sclerosant. The compartmentalization also ensured that the sclerosant stayed within these compartments and was not washed out into the general circulation. Good esthetic outcomes were achieved in very visible areas such as the commissure and the vermillion border. In these areas, a surgical resection would have certainly caused a disruption of the esthetics of the lips and, in the second case, probably an alteration of function. Intratumoral ligation can be used safely to achieve control of vascular malformations with good esthetic outcomes.