Since 1985 – the beginning of her training as a plastic surgeon – Prof. Dr. van der Horst has been interested in the analysis and treatment of vascular malformations and hemangiomas. She also has an interest in congenital anomalies in general. She has been a staff member at the AMC since 1989. In 1990 she organized (along with the work group “Congenital Vascular Abnormalities”) the ISSVA Congress (International Society for the Study of Vascular Anomalies) in Amsterdam. Since then, she has been very actively involved in the field of congenital vascular abnormalities internationally. Her doctoral thesis, entitled “Considerations on port-wine stains and their treatment” speaks for itself.
Over the years she has collaborated with many others on research and published on congenital vascular anomalies. This collaboration consists of work with geneticists, dermatologists, other plastic surgeons, vascular surgeons, intervention radiologists and patient groups. Collaboration leads gradually to better understanding of the effects of congenital vascular anomaly for the patients as well as to further insights into the causes of vascular abnormalities. These developments are unfortunately slow.
Since 2000 Prof. Dr. van der Horst has been head of plastic surgery at the AMC and instructor of plastic surgeons who of course also gain knowledge and understanding of congenital vascular anomalies.
