[Tufted angiomas in childhood: A series of 9 cases and a literature review]

Abstract

Introduction: Tufted angioma (TA) is a rare benign vascular tumor that mostly appears during infancy or early childhood, although there are cases reported in adults. Clinical presentation and evolution of TA can vary. Histologically, it takes on a classic appearance of vascular tufts ("cannon ball" like appearance).

Patients and methods: A retrospective observational study was conducted that included all patients diagnosed with TA at our center in the last 20 years.

Results: A series of 9 cases of tufted angioma in childhood are presented, 77.7% of which were congenital. This represents a frequency higher than previously described. Spontaneous regression was observed in 55.5% of the cases, and was more frequent in the congenital TA group. Unlike other TA series reported in the literature, a higher proportion of patients with spontaneous regression was observed in this series, with a higher prevalence in females (6 out of 9 children) and predominantly located in the upper limbs. None of our patients had Kasabach-Merritt phenomenon.

Conclusions: There are many ways of treating TA, but none are uniformly effective. Given the high rate of spontaneous regression in congenital or early TA, we suggest that, in the absence of other complications, monitoring would be a good option for management.

Keywords: Angioma en penacho; Benign vascular tumor; Cannon ball; Congenital; Congénito; Lóbulos angiomatosos; Tufted angioma; Tumoración vascular benigna.