title: Soft-tissue venous malformations in pediatric and young adult patients: diagnosis with Doppler US.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To describe the diagnostic features, appearance, and vascularization pattern of venous malformations (VMs) at Doppler ultrasonography (US).
  
  
  METHODS
  Between February 1991 and May 1997, 51 soft-tissue VMs were studied with Doppler US in patients between 1 day and 21 years of age (mean age, 9 years). These VMs were located in the maxillofacial region (n = 19), trunk (n = 5), and upper (n = 10) and lower (n = 17) extremities. Twenty-three VMs had venographic confirmation, seven had only histologic confirmation, and 21 had both venographic and histologic confirmation. US was performed with 7.5- or 7-10-MHz linear transducers, a low pulse repetition frequency (mean, 1,680 Hz), and the lowest wall filter (25-50 Hz).
  
  
  RESULTS
  At gray-scale US, VMs appeared as hypoechoic, heterogeneous lesions in 82% of cases. All lesions displayed compressibility. In eight lesions (16%), phleboliths were identified, thus confirming the diagnosis of VM. Analysis of vascular flow revealed monophasic, low-velocity flow in 40 VMs (78%), with an average flow velocity of 0.22 kHz. Biphasic flow was noted at the periphery of three lesions, which is indicative of a mixed capillary-venous malformation. The remaining eight lesions did not display any flow.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  In pediatric patients, Doppler US is a noninvasive, easily available, and rapid mode of investigation of vascular lesions and can help confirm the diagnosis of VM when it shows a characteristic flow pattern.
authors.affiliation: Department of Medical Imaging, Hôpital Sainte-Justine, Montréal, Québec, Canada.
authors.forename: I
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Trop
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Dubois
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Guibaud
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Grignon
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Patriquin
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: McCuaig
authors.forename: L A
authors.initials: LA
authors.lastname: Garel
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D001165:Arteriovenous Malformations / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D001783:Blood Flow Velocity / Q000502:physiology; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D008297:Male; D018608:Ultrasonography, Doppler; D014680:Veins / Q000002:abnormalities / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging