Venous lake

Venous lake
Venous lake of the lip
Classification and external resources
Specialty oncology
ICD-10 D18 (ILDS D18.050)
DiseasesDB 31384
eMedicine derm/451

A venous lake (also known as "Phlebectasis"[1]) is a generally solitary, soft, compressible, dark blue to violaceous, 0.2- to 1-cm papule commonly found on sun-exposed surfaces of the vermilion border of the lip, face and ears.[2][3][4] Lesions generally occur among the elderly.[5][6]

Though these lesions may resemble nodular melanoma, the lack of induration, slow growth, and lightening appearance upon diascopy suggest against it, and indicate a vascular lesion.[7] Additionally, lack of pulsation distinguishes this lesion of the lower lip from a tortuous segment of the inferior labial artery.[4]

Cause

The cause is unknown; however it is thought to be associated with sun exposure, leading to a dilated blood-filled vascular channel[2] "...lined with a singled layer of flattened endothelial cells and a thin wall of fibrous tissue filled with red blood cells."[7]

Treatment

Treatment may be requested for cosmetic reasons. Traditional techniques such as surgical excision are effective but will leave a scar. Laser therapy has become the mainstay of therapy. Published research suggests that the Long Pulsed Nd:YAG laser is a very effective, with a clearance rate of 94% following a single treatment. In this study no scarring or other complications were reported. [8]

Images

See also

Footnotes

  1. ↑ James, William; Berger, Timothy; Elston, Dirk (2005). Andrews' Diseases of the Skin: Clinical Dermatology. (10th ed.). Saunders. Page 588. ISBN 0-7216-2921-0.
  2. 1 2 Habif, Thomas P. Clinical Dermatology: A Color Guide to Diagnosis and Therapy. Mosby, Inc. 2004. Page 825. ISBN 0-323-01319-8.
  3. ↑ Goldberg, LH; Ar, Altman (1985). "Venous lakes of the ears". Cutis. 36 (6): 472–5. PMID 4075841.
  4. 1 2 Sauer, Gordon. Manual of Skin Diseases. Lippincott. 1985. Page 315. ISBN 0-397-50668-6.
  5. ↑ Kuo, HW; Yang, CH. (2003). "Venous lake of the lip treated with a sclerosing agent: report of two cases". Dermatol Surg. 29 (4): 425–8. PMID 12656828. doi:10.1046/j.1524-4725.2003.29101.x.
  6. ↑ Rapini, Ronald P.; Bolognia, Jean L.; Jorizzo, Joseph L. (2007). Dermatology: 2-Volume Set. St. Louis: Mosby. p. 1620. ISBN 1-4160-2999-0.
  7. 1 2 Wolff and Johnson. Fitzpatrick's Color Atlas and Synopsis of Clinical Dermatology. The McGraw-Hill Companies. 2005. Page 192. ISBN 0-07-144019-4.
  8. ↑ Bekhor, Philip (11 Sep 2006). "Long-pulsed Nd:YAG laser treatment of venous lakes: report of a series of 34 cases.". Dermatologic Surgery. 32 (9): 1151–4. PMID 16970696. doi:10.1111/j.1524-4725.2006.32253.x.
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