The Updated Classification of Vascular Anomalies

Vascular birthmarks range from innocuous “stork bites” to complicated arteriovenous malformations and life-threatening malignancies such as angiosarcoma. Historically, the term “hemangioma” has been used to label a multitude of vascular lesions, causing ongoing confusion in the literature and hindering communication between disciplines. This lack of precision is particularly problematic because management of vascular anomalies may require multidisciplinary cooperation.

In 1982, Mulliken and Glowacki divided vascular anomalies into two categories: proliferative tumors (e.g., infantile hemangioma) and vascular malformations (e.g., port wine stain). In 1997, the International Society for the Study of Vascular Anomalies (ISSVA) further stratifie…