title: Management of vascular birthmarks: review of a multidisciplinary clinic.
abstract: Vascular birthmarks comprise a diverse group of congenital lesions and represent a significant cosmetic and functional burden for patients. They remain a diagnostic and management challenge for physicians due to their extremely variable clinical presentation and often complex anatomical associations. As each type of vascular lesion has a treatment program individual to it, optimal functional and cosmetic outcomes require accurate diagnosis. Primary physicians readily diagnose and manage uncomplicated lesions, such as isolated haemangiomas and innocuous capillary malformations. However, given the complexity and relative rarity of many other vascular birthmarks, specialised multidisciplinary clinics are central to their management. In this review, we present our experience regarding the diagnostic range of vascular anomalies, associated symptomatology, and management of patients with vascular birthmarks attending the multidisciplinary Joint Vascular Birthmark Clinic at Our Lady's Children's Hospital, Crumlin. Vascular tumours represented 57% of cases reviewed, malformations accounting for 43%. Of patients not previously seen at the JVBC or by any of the individual consultants, the initial or referring diagnosis was incorrect in 42%. Significantly, 62% of vascular malformations were assigned an incorrect diagnosis, highlighting the need for a specialised clinic.
authors.affiliation: Our Lady's Hospital for Sick Children, Crumlin, Dublin.
authors.forename: G M
authors.initials: GM
authors.lastname: O'Regan
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Watson
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Orr
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: O'Donovan
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Russell
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Phelan
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Ryan
authors.forename: O
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Brosnahan
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Irvine
mesh_terms: D001808:Blood Vessels / Q000473:pathology*; D019080:Cafe-au-Lait Spots / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000628:therapy; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005260:Female; D006391:Hemangioma / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000473:pathology; D006776:Hospitals, Pediatric; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D007494:Ireland; D008297:Male; D009508:Nevus, Pigmented / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000628:therapy; D019339:Port-Wine Stain / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000628:therapy; D012189:Retrospective Studies