Vascular Malformation of the Face: a Rare Case with Follow-up of 18 Years

Abstract

Objective: Vascular malformations are structural anomalies in the blood vessels. They are present at birth and persist throughout life. These malformations can be classified according to the type of vessel involved. A port-wine stain is a vascular malformation characterized by an increased number of ectatic vessels in the dermal vascular plexus, which can be found in any part of the body, including the head and neck region. Over time, most of these stains result in soft tissue hypertrophy and this growth can cause severe facial deformity.

Materials and methods: This study describes a rare case of a giant proliferative vascular anomaly arising from a port-wine stain on the face.

Results: The report highlights the continuous and proliferative growth of the malformation observed after follow-up of 18 years, as well as the difficulty in establishing the diagnosis due to the complexity and dimension of the lesion and the conditions related to the patient's low socioeconomic status.

Conclusions: We have described a rare and unusual case report of a giant proliferative vascular malformation arising from a Port-wine stain on the face.

Keywords: Blood Vessels; Face; Port-Wine Stain; Vascular Malformations.

Figure 1

Patient at age 42 (image taken in 1998) Frontal view of face showing tumor proliferation with involvement of eye, nose and upper lip.

Figure 2

Patient at age 60. Note the exuberant tumor of vascular origin in the left upper part of the face, initially associated with a port-wine stain on his hem face.

Figure 3

Cranial X-ray showing multiple soft tissue nodular images of the face and the absence of intracranial pathological calcifications.

Figure 4

Contrast-enhanced Computed Tomography showing bone structures of normal morphology and multiple round lesions, with soft tissue densities forming clusters, located in the skin and subcutaneous cellular tissue throughout the face and temporoparietal regions.