49 Vascular Tumors Abel Sepulveda, MD1 Edward P. Buchanan, MD1 1 Division of Plastic Surgery, Baylor College of Medicine, Address for correspondence Edward P. Buchanan, MD, Division of Houston, Texas Plastic Surgery, Baylor College of Medicine,6701 Fannin St. Suite 610.00, Houston, TX 77030 (e-mail:
[email protected]). Semin Plast Surg 2014;28:49–57. Abstract Vascular anomalies are divided into two main groups: tumors and malformations. Vascular tumors are a large and complex group of lesions, especially for clinicians with Keywords none or little experience in this field. In the past, these lesions caused a great deal of ► vascular anomalies confusion because many appear analogous to the naked eye. Thankfully, recent ► vascular tumor advances in diagnostic techniques have helped the medical community to enhance ► hemangioma our comprehension, accurately label, diagnose, and treat these lesions. In this article, we ► vascular will review the most frequent vascular tumors and provide the reader with the tools to malformation properly label, diagnose, and manage these complex lesions. Vascular anomalies can be broken down into two major The word “birthmark” was one of the first ways used to categories: tumors and malformations. These clinical entities described vascular anomalies, based on the folk belief that a are extremely different, but often confused, as evidenced by mother’s emotions can leave an imprint on her unborn fetus.2 the history and medical literature. A thorough medical histo- In the late 1860s, Dugas and Fisher disproved this belief and ry and physical exam is essential when it comes to defining concluded that birthmarks were malformations resulting any vascular anomaly.