Vascular anomalies are not new. Throughout history, there have been references to vascular anomalies, yet the study of these disorders has not traditionally been emphasized in medical training.
In recent years, how-ever, research in the mechanisms of blood vessel growth and development has led to therapies to inhibit unwanted vessel growth (as seen in cancers and other disorders) as well as to stimulate new vessel growth (for example in areas of damaged tissue such as the cardiac muscle after a heart attack). Researchers have also discovered new insights into the genetic components of vascular and lymphatic development.
The International Society for the Study of Vascular Anomalies (www.issva.org) was founded in 1992 by a core group of physicians of multiple specialties who shared an interest and expertise in vascular anomalies. This group, with an increasing membership, has contributed greatly to the nomenclature and both basic and clinical research in vascular anomalies, and it has served as a catalyst for other practitioners and researchers.
Other medical subspecialty societies are incorporating vascular anomalies in the roster of symposia and work-shops at national and international professional meetings. Publications in interdisciplinary, peer-reviewed journals are increasing in frequency.