Life (May 2024)

Soft Tissue Vascular Anomalies of the Extremities: A Proposed Diagnostic Approach

  • Michele Fiore,
  • Marta Bortoli,
  • Andrea Sambri,
  • Ludovica Lotrecchiano,
  • Luigi Lovato,
  • Michele Mirelli,
  • Iria Neri,
  • Massimiliano De Paolis,
  • Bianca Maria Piraccini,
  • Mauro Gargiulo

DOI
https://doi.org/10.3390/life14060670
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 14, no. 6
p. 670

Abstract

Read online

This narrative review aims to summarise the classification of vascular anomalies, their clinical presentation, and their radiological features to propose a diagnostic algorithm to approach patients with suspected soft tissue vascular anomalies of the extremities. The management of vascular anomalies necessitates a multidisciplinary approach. Clinical presentation and physical examination are sufficient in most cases to achieve a correct diagnosis. This is especially true for small congenital lesions of the skin and subcutaneous tissue. Imaging is used for accurate characterization of these lesions, especially in cases of atypical or vague clinical presentation, and to assess extension in cases of lesions that are larger and localized in deeper tissues.

Keywords