Multicentered analysis of percutaneous sclerotherapies in venous malformations of the face

Vanessa F Schmidt; Max Masthoff; Constantin Goldann; Richard Brill; Peter B Sporns; Laura Segger; Victor Schulze-Zachau; Martin Takes; Michael Köhler; Sinan Deniz; Osman Öcal; Nabeel Mansour; Muzaffer Reha Ümütlü; Mwivano Dunstan Shemwetta; Balowa Musa Baraka; Eric M Mbuguje; Azza A Naif; Ofonime Ukweh; Max Seidensticker; Jens Ricke; Bernhard Gebauer; Walter A Wohlgemuth; Moritz Wildgruber

doi:10.3389/fmed.2022.1066412

Multicentered analysis of percutaneous sclerotherapies in venous malformations of the face

Front Med (Lausanne). 2022 Dec 13:9:1066412. doi: 10.3389/fmed.2022.1066412. eCollection 2022.

Authors

Vanessa F Schmidt¹, Max Masthoff², Constantin Goldann³, Richard Brill³, Peter B Sporns^{4

5}, Laura Segger⁶, Victor Schulze-Zachau⁴, Martin Takes⁷, Michael Köhler², Sinan Deniz¹, Osman Öcal¹, Nabeel Mansour¹, Muzaffer Reha Ümütlü¹, Mwivano Dunstan Shemwetta⁸, Balowa Musa Baraka⁸, Eric M Mbuguje⁸, Azza A Naif⁸, Ofonime Ukweh^{8

9}, Max Seidensticker¹, Jens Ricke¹, Bernhard Gebauer⁶, Walter A Wohlgemuth³, Moritz Wildgruber¹

Affiliations

¹ Department of Radiology, University Hospital, LMU Munich, Munich, Germany.
² Clinic for Radiology, Münster University Hospital, Münster, Germany.
³ Clinic and Policlinic of Radiology, Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg, Halle, Germany.
⁴ Department of Neuroradiology, Clinic of Radiology and Nuclear Medicine, University Hospital Basel, Basel, Switzerland.
⁵ Department of Diagnostic and Interventional Neuroradiology, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Hamburg, Germany.
⁶ Department of Radiology, Charité - University Medicine Berlin, Berlin, Germany.
⁷ Department of Interventional Radiology, Clinic of Radiology and Nuclear Medicine, University Hospital Basel, Basel, Switzerland.
⁸ Department of Radiology, Muhimbili University of Health and Allied Sciences, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.
⁹ Department of Radiology, University of Calabar, Calabar, Nigeria.

Abstract

Objectives: To evaluate the safety and outcome of image-guided sclerotherapy for treating venous malformations (VMs) of the face.

Materials and methods: A multicenter cohort of 68 patients with VMs primarily affecting the face was retrospectively investigated. In total, 142 image-guided sclerotherapies were performed using gelified ethanol and/or polidocanol. Clinical and imaging findings were assessed to evaluate clinical response, lesion size reduction, and complication rates. Sub-analyses of complication rates depending on type and injected volume of the sclerosant as well as of pediatric versus adult patient groups were conducted.

Results: Mean number of procedures per patient was 2.1 (±1.7) and mean follow-up consisted of 8.7 months (±6.8 months). Clinical response (n = 58) revealed a partial relief of symptoms in 70.7% (41/58), 13/58 patients (22.4%) presented symptom-free while only 4/58 patients (6.9%) reported no improvement. Post-treatment imaging (n = 52) revealed an overall objective response rate of 86.5% (45/52). The total complication rate was 10.6% (15/142) including 4.2% (7/142) major complications, mostly (14/15, 93.3%) resolved by conservative means. In one case, a mild facial palsy persisted over time. The complication rate in the gelified ethanol subgroup was significantly higher compared to polidocanol and to the combination of both sclerosants (23.5 vs. 6.0 vs. 8.3%, p = 0.01). No significant differences in complications between the pediatric and the adult subgroup were observed (12.1 vs. 9.2%, p = 0.57). Clinical response did not correlate with lesion size reduction on magnetic resonance imaging (MRI).

Conclusion: Image-guided sclerotherapy is effective for treating VMs of the face. Clinical response is not necessarily associated with size reduction on imaging. Despite the complex anatomy of this location, the procedures are safe for both adults and children.

Keywords: VM; face; outcome; sclerotherapy; slow-flow.

Copyright © 2022 Schmidt, Masthoff, Goldann, Brill, Sporns, Segger, Schulze-Zachau, Takes, Köhler, Deniz, Öcal, Mansour, Ümütlü, Shemwetta, Baraka, Mbuguje, Naif, Ukweh, Seidensticker, Ricke, Gebauer, Wohlgemuth and Wildgruber.