Venous malformation at the upper lip treated with sclerotherapy – A case report

Abstract

Although vascular malformations of the head and neck present several challenges, sclerotherapy with ethanolamine oleate (EO) is effective. A 23-year-old woman presented to our institution with a mass under the mucosa and skin of the upper lip. A low-flow-type venous malformation was diagnosed based on findings from magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and angiography. We injected 5% EO as the sclerosing agent. The superior labial artery was manually interrupted by application of pressure to prevent leakage of the 5% EO. The patient underwent a total of 3 sessions of sclerotherapy, separated by intervals of 5 months. We observed that the vascular malformations had decreased in size, with signs of scarring visible on MRI. In addition, lip asymmetry remained after sclerotherapy, and was restored with surgical recontouring. Pathological examination of the resected tissue indicated total scarring of the lesion. Postoperative cosmetic and functional outcomes were excellent, without recurrence of the venous malformation. Sclerotherapy with EO in which leakage of the agent was prevented with manual pressure is effective for treating venous malformations.