J. Zwerver et al., VASCULAR MALFORMATIONS - A REVIEW OF 10 YEARS MANAGEMENT IN A UNIVERSITY HOSPITAL, Pediatric surgery international, 11(5-6), 1996, pp. 296-300
In order to gain insight into the management of patients with vascular
malformations (VM) in the University Hospital Nijmegen in the past 10
years, 151 cases managed by different specialists were reviewed. To a
void the usual confusion in terminology, all recorded diagnoses were r
eclassified according to the biological classification of Mulliken. Th
e sex distribution was equal; 79% of the malformations were diagnosed
at birth or in the 1st year of life. The median time between presentat
ion and consultation was 3 years. Sixty-two lymphatic, 26 venous, 24 c
apillary, 1 arterial, and 38 combined malformations (8 arteriovenous,
30 others) were found, The head and neck region was most frequently in
volved, followed by the lower and upper limbs and trunk. The pediatric
surgeon was the most frequently consulted specialist, Confusing, mutu
ally incompatible terminology and a wide variety of different diagnost
ic techniques and treatments had been used by the different specialist
s. To improve the management of patients with vascular malformations,
the use of a uniform classification, an increase in basic investigatio
ns, and the development and evaluation of protocols for diagnosis and
treatment by multidisciplinary teams are necessary.