What is a vascular anomaly?
A vascular anomaly is a tumor made up of blood vessels. There are different types of vessels and these will determine the type of anomaly.
How serious is a vascular anomaly?
A vascular anomaly can be extremely serious, and even life threatening.
Who do they affect?
Vascular anomalies can affect all children despite race or gender and there is no known hereditary correlation between the anomaly and the parents.
How many children are affected by a vascular anomaly?
The most common anomaly is an hemangioma affecting about 1 in 10 children. Port Wine Stains affect about 1 in 1,000 children and although there are no known statistics for arteriovenous malformations, lymphatic malformations and venous malformations we believe the incidence is about 1 in 50,000.
When do they appear?
Vascular anomalies are all present at or soon after birth.
What is the average cost for treatment?
On average, it will cost between $10,000 to $50,000 for a procedure. This amount may vary depending on the severity and the length of hospital stay. Frequently, a child will require more than one procedure.
Why is it so difficult to find a specialist to treat vascular anomalies?
Vascular anomalies are rare disorders. As a consequence of this, most physicians will only see one or two in a lifetime. It is therefore important to go to a center where these vascular anomalies are seen frequently.
Why do so many families need financial assistance?
There are very few centers that have extensive experience in the treatment of vascular anomalies. It is therefore often necessary for a child to travel out-of-network for treatment. Some insurance companies will not allow this. Depending on the type of insurance the family holds, it is often very difficult to gain out-of-network approval. Insurance companies can be difficult to deal with in this process.
