Invasive therapy

In addition to conservative measures, numerous invasive therapeutic options are available for the treatment of vascular anomalies. These include laser therapy, sclerotherapy, endoluminal radiofrequency or laser ablation, embolization and open surgery. In many cases, a combination of the different procedures by an interdisciplinary team is required. The following table provides a brief overview of the various invasive therapy options for vascular anomalies.

Overview of invasive treatment methods

ProcedureDescription
Laser therapyEspecially treatment of superficial lesions or interstitial over inserted needles
SclerotherapySclerotherapy of slow-flow malformations with a sclerosing agent applied percutaneously
Endoluminal procedures
  • Endovascular laser therapy (EVLT)
  • Radiofrequency ablation (RFA)
Endoluminal, mostly thermal sclerotherapy of e.g., diseased major tubular dysplastic veins using laser or radiofrequency probes
EmbolizationClosure of fast-flow vascular malformations using embolization materials via inserted catheters
Open surgeryOpen surgical resection of circumscribed vascular malformations