Skeletal hemangiomas and vascular malformations

Solitary osseous capillary-type vascular malformation of the distal humerus in a child

Vascular malformations are abnormal proliferations of the endothelial lining of the blood vessels that are most commonly found in skin and can penetrate the local soft tissue and muscle. Only 1% of all vascular malformations are found in the bone. Skeletal vascular malformations of the long bones, including the humerus, are extremely rare entities that are particularly uncommon in children. Only 4 reports involving the humerus have been described in children previously. We present the case of an intraosseous capillary vascular malformation of the right distal humerus in a 3-year-old boy. Definitive treatment was successful with a single operation using curettage and intramedullary decompression with grafting of an osteoconductive calcium sulfate pellet filler and autogenous bone graft. This is, to our knowledge, the youngest reported case of a solitary intraosseous capillary vascular malformation involving the distal humerus.