Venous malformation

A venous malformation can also look like varicose veins
Venous malformation

A venous malformation is a congenital defect of the veins.

The veins are different than normal veins and contain, for example, less muscle cells. Feeding them less blood, which is actually their duty. That is why they sometimes look varicose. A venous malformation can be anywhere in the skin or in the body. Usually it is a venous malformation blue. A venous malformation feels soft and sometimes it can be empty. It is unclear why a venous malformation occurs exactly. Usually this gives cosmetic problems, sometimes pain. However, there may also be functional problems, as with a large deviation on the lip.

Important is the difference with the infantile hemangioma. Venous malformations are defects of the veins and exist from birth. Venous malformations grow along with the child and do not go away by themself (hemangiomas occur almost always after birth, then grow very fast; they can be quite large and then will go away).

Usually, the diagnosis may be made on the based on the history and look at the area. If the doctor is not sure he can order an ultrasound or a CT scan.

If treatment is required, it is typically treated with sclerotherapy. It is something sprayed in the blood vessels by an Interventional Radiologist that provides a chemical reaction which makes the walls of the blood vessels there decrease. This makes the place invisible. Correction is also possible with surgery or laser treatment. A deviation that is in the legs can also be treated with support stockings.

Follow us on

Newsletter