Usefulness of Ultrasound in Verrucous Venous Malformation: a Series of 103 Cases

Abstract

Background: Verrucous venous malformation (VVM), previously called "verrucous hemangioma," is a rare type of vascular malformation.

Objective: Little is known about the ultrasonographic characteristics of VVM. The present study aimed to show the conventional US and elastographic features of a VVM.

Materials and methods: The US findings in 103 patients with VVMs were retrospectively evaluated.

Results: On gray-scale ultrasound images, 98 (95.1%) lesions showed subcutaneous fat infiltration from skin across muscle to deep fascia. The other 5 (4.9%) sat in the subcutaneous layer with no skin involvement. Most (96.1%) lesions were hyperechoic. Furthermore, 71.8% of lesions were heterogeneous, 68.9% of which were with ill-defined margins. Calcifications and visible vessels were present in 5.7% and 10.7% of the VVM cases, respectively. By color Doppler ultrasound, all lesions were found with low vascular density and 4.9% showed enhanced blood flow after compression. Venous spectrum was observed in 67.0% of lesions. The elasticity score was 2.66 ± 0.48.

Conclusion: Diagnosis of a VVM is challenging in the clinic. However, we found that most VVM lesions present distinctive ultrasound imaging characteristics. These ultrasound findings may well contribute to the accuracy of VVM diagnosis, especially in those with the absence of epidermal changes and the lack of dermal involvement.