The Importance of anamnesis and clinical examination in the diagnosis of vascular malformations

Abstract

Vascular malformations are a heterogeneous group of embryonic vascular malformations, which can occur as venous, arterial, lymphatic or combined anomalies 1 2 3 4. Typically these are already present at birth. VMF are extremely variable in clinical appearance, depending on which vessels are affected. With predominantly lymphatic malformations, the swelling of the affected body region is in the foreground 5. Capillary malformations usually appear as a nevus flammeus. The expansion of the capillary vessels leads to permanent livid reddening in the skin level of the affected area. This case describes a patient with an extensive combined venous-capillary and lymphatic malformation with emphasis on the face, back and lower extremity. Due to the noticeable swelling of the lower lip, he came to our clinic with the suspected diagnosis of Melkersson-Rosenthal syndrome.