The Natural History of Soft Tissue Hypertrophy, Bony Hypertrophy, and Nodule Formation in Patients With Untreated Head and Neck Capillary Malformations.
BACKGROUND
A percentage of patients with capillary malformation (CM) develop soft tissue hypertrophy, bony hypertrophy, and/or nodule formation.


OBJECTIVE
To determine the incidence, age of onset, anatomic distribution of soft tissue/bony hypertrophy, and nodule formation in patients with untreated CM.


METHODS
A retrospective medical records review of head and neck CM patients presenting to a tertiary referral center over a 7-year period (2004-2011) was performed.


RESULTS
Of the 160 patients with CM, 96 demonstrated progression of disease to include either soft tissue/bony hypertrophy or nodule formation. Of these, 87 patients had not received previous treatment and met the inclusion criteria for analysis. On average, soft tissue hypertrophy began at 9 years of age. The V2/maxillary segment was most commonly involved with upper lip hypertrophy being the most prominent. Fourteen percent of the patients also presented with bony hypertrophy, which began at an average age of 15 years. Nodules were present in 38/87 (44%) of patients with an average age of onset of 22 years.


CONCLUSIONS
This study demonstrates the nature progression of CM and quantifies the clinical characteristics of hypertrophy and nodule formation with untreated head and neck CM. Early and continuous treatment is recommended in hopes of preventing CM progression.
*Department of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, School of Medicine, Kyungpook National University, Daegu, South Korea; †Vascular Birthmark Institute of New York at Lenox Hill and Manhattan, Eye, Ear and Throat Hospitals, New York, New York; ‡Department of Otolaryngology, New York University, New York, New York.
Jeong Woo
JW
Lee
Ho Yun
HY
Chung
Eric W
EW
Cerrati
Teresa M
TM
O
Milton
M
Waner
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D017668:Age of Onset; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005145:Face / Q000473:pathology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D006984:Hypertrophy / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000209:etiology / Q000473:pathology; D015994:Incidence; D007223:Infant; D008297:Male; D008334:Mandible / Q000473:pathology*; D008437:Maxilla / Q000473:pathology*; D009055:Mouth / Q000473:pathology; D009333:Neck; D019339:Port-Wine Stain / Q000150:complications*; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012737:Sex Factors; D055815:Young Adult