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Vascular Anomalies Center

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One in every ten children is born with a congenital vascular lesion. About ten percent of these patients will require some form of treatment, whether it be medical, surgical or laser photocoagulation.

With a 25-year history, the Vascular Anomalies Center at Arkansas Children's is an internationally recognized leader in treating and researching adult and pediatric congenital vascular anomalies. The multidisciplinary team provides comprehensive, cutting-edge, surgical and medical treatment for a wide range of vascular malformations. The center is known worldwide for its research, minimally invasive outpatient treatment methods and excellent outcomes.

Program Features:

Vascular Anomalies Team

The academic focus of Arkansas Children's is supported by vascular anomalies team members at many levels, from the teaching of medical students and residents about vascular anomalies and other subjects in our various disciplines to the specialized training of practicing physicians from all over the United States and abroad regarding technical aspects of vascular anomaly diagnosis and treatment.

Meet the team

Vascular anomalies are abnormalities of the vascular system. Most vascular anomalies are visible on the body's surface and treatable with various techniques. Others can be discovered deeper in the body later in life, around prepubescent or puberty age, as they grow.

Vascular anomalies are divided into two groups: vascular tumors and vascular malformations.

Vascular tumors treated by our Vascular Anomalies team include:

  • Hemangioma
  • Kaposiform hemangioendothelioma (KHE)
  • Angiosarcoma

  • Hemangiomas (Birthmarks)

    Various hemangiomas (also called strawberry birthmarks) are treated by the pediatric vascular anomalies team at Arkansas Children's.

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Vascular Malformations are divided into simple and combined/complex malformations. They are also associated with other syndromes.

Simple Malformations

Complex or Combined Syndromes with Vascular Malformation Associations

Combined/complex malformations treated by our Vascular Anomalies team include:

  • Klippel-Trenaunay Syndrome, or KTS
  • Parkes-Weber Syndrome
  • Proteus Syndrome
  • CLOVES Syndrome
  • FAVA (fibro-adipose vascular anomaly)
  • Hereditary Hemorrhagic Telangiectasia (HHT or Osler-Weber-Rendu) Syndrome

  • Klippel-Trenauney Syndrome (KTS) (KTS)

    The characteristics of this syndrome are a mixed venous-lymphatic malformation usually involving the extremities. There is usually a port wine like stain on the affected limb and there is usually a difference in size between the affected and nonaffected limb, the affected one being larger.

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Meet the Team

The Vascular Anomalies Center at Arkansas Children's is staffed by a closely integrated multidisciplinary team of physician specialists and related support staff representing the disciplines of Hematology/Oncology, Craniofacial Orthodontics, Pediatric Surgery, Research, Otolaryngology/Head and Neck Surgery, Pathology, Radiology, Dermatology, Pediatrics, and Orthopedic Surgery. Clinical team members work together to provide the needed care appropriate for each patient.

Medical Director

  • Joana Mack, MD

    Emergency Medicine, Hematology / Oncology, Hospitalist
    Little Rock, Springdale

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Surgical Director

Locations

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Experts in Diagnosis and Treatment

Approximately ten percent of all children born in the United States have a vascular birthmark. While many of these birthmarks will disappear within a few years of age, about ten percent of these children have a birthmark that will require a specialist's opinion. The parents of these children are often confused and feel helpless due to their lack of knowledge regarding diagnosis and treatment options. Many recent advances have been made in the diagnosis and treatment of hemangiomas and vascular malformations.

Treatment options may include:

  • After registering, you will be asked to complete a medical history form and insurance paperwork. Don’t forget to bring your child’s insurance card.
  • When your child’s name is called, one of our team members will guide you into the clinic and take your child’s height and weight.
  • In the exam room, you will meet one of our specialty nurses who will ask you some questions about your child’s medical history.
  • Our physicians will visit with you and your child and examine the area with the vascular anomaly. Then they will determine if any tests are needed and work with you to develop a treatment plan based on your child’s individual needs.

Research is an essential element of our Vascular Anomalies program, again utilizing the strength of the multidisciplinary team approach. Team members have made many significant advances in the field to continually advance treatment options and discover fundamental mechanisms of the underlying disease processes.

The Center for Investigation of Congenital Aberrancies in Vascular Development at the Arkansas Children's Research Institute was established in 2008. The center was created to open a dedicated molecular and biology laboratory to investigate vascular anomalies and conduct pilot work on in vitro and in vivo experimental models of disease. In the process, the laboratory has successfully isolated Hemangioma stem cells, explored various molecular markers, and grown various vascular anomalies in nude mice and tissue culture. Our team has presented this work at international scientific conferences and has several manuscripts in progress. Dr. Gresham Richter serves as the Research Director of the Center for Investigation of Congenital Aberrancies in Vascular Development. Our facility occupies 650 ft 2 that is fully operational to conduct the entire spectrum of laboratory techniques, including immunohistochemistry, Western blotting, Northern blotting, RTPCR, tissue culture, and animal experiments. Local institutional intramural funding has supported the initial equipment acquisition and pilot projects.

Some of the awards our research team has won are as follows:

William P. Potsic Basic Science Award for Outstanding Achievement in the Field of Pediatric Otolaryngology from the American Society of Pediatric Otolaryngology

  • 2011 First Place-Dr. Dai, "Enos Protein Expressions is Decreased in Involuting Hemangioma's"
  • 2011 Second Place-Dr. Hou, "Novel In-Vivo Model for Human Lymphatic Malformations"

Their achievement is the first time in the award program's history that researchers from the same institute were awarded first and second places in the same year.

Vascular Anomalies Clinical Patient Resources

The organizations and support groups provided may be helpful to families and patients of the Vascular Anomalies Clinic. 

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