Information for patients

Vascular malformations (anomalies) occur in around ten per cent of all newborns in the first few days or weeks. Occasionally, vascular changes are not diagnosed until later in life. They are caused by defective development of the vascular system in the 4th to 10th week of the embryonic period. They cannot be cured, but in most cases the symptoms can be alleviated and sometimes even completely eliminated.

Neoplasm or congenital malformation

Differentiating between neoplasms (tumours of the blood and lymphatic vessel system) and congenital vascular malformations is often not easy. In addition to a detailed examination of the patient's medical history and clinical findings, the diagnosis usually also requires imaging examinations. In addition to specialised ultrasound, this also includes a wide range of radiological procedures such as magnetic resonance imaging, computer tomography and angiography.

Haemangioma / red spot 

The help of the parents is of great importance: When did the child develop a "red spot", also known as a haemangioma? They are often not present at birth. They only appear days to weeks later. Congenital vascular malformations, on the other hand, are already present at the time of birth, even if they are not always recognisable. In many cases, this means that they only become apparent much later in the patient's life. However, if the "red spot" is already visible at birth, it is usually a vascular malformation (VM). VMs ‘grow’ with people. So they get bigger in the course of life and never disappear on their own.

We deliberately limit ourselves to diseases of the head and neck in order to simplify orientation in the multitude of possible diseases. Diseases of the vascular system inside the skull are treated by colleagues in neurosurgery and neuroradiology and are not listed here. 

• Tumours of the blood and lymphatic system
• Vascular malformations (arteriovenous, venous, lymphatic)
• ISSVA
• Osler's disease