Management of large vascular lesions of the lip: case reports

Vascular lesions of the head and neck region have been classified as either hemangiomas or vascular malformations. In adults, the lesions usually seen are malformations which may be large. Total resection of these lesions necessitates extensive reconstructive procedures and involves the risk of massive hemorrhage. It is for localized vascular malformations which arise in accessible areas of the face, e.g., the lip, that we developed a technique of circumferential ligation and partial resection. In our experience, this technique successfully circumvents the above problems. We present three cases which illustrate our contention.