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Although cavernous malformations tend to be isolated, they are not exclusively localised to the orbit. Similar lesions have been described in a variety of sites including the liver and the skin.1 ,2 Recently, we have described the clincopathophysiological nature of orbital cavernous malformations.3 The purpose of this follow-up investigation is to extend these findings to lesions of the liver and skin.
We examined four representative, consecutive cases with a pathological diagnosis of cavernous malformation found in the liver, skin and orbit, respectively. A total of 12 cases were reviewed. All slides were stained as previously described.3
Morphological analysis revealed flat, mature vascular endothelium staining uniformly for CD31 without elastic lamina in all specimens. Vascular spaces were arranged in a back-to-back fashion, giving all cases a classic cavernous malformation appearance (figure 1A–C).
(A) Low-power photomicrograph of H&E-stained cavernous malformation of the orbit. (B) Low-power photomicrograph of H&E-stained cavernous malformation of the skin. Inset demonstrates small vessels integrated in to the fibrous capsule. (C) Low-power photomicrograph of H&E-stained cavernous malformation of the liver. Asterisk (*) notes cavernous spaces within the liver parenchyma. (D) Medium-power photomicrograph of cavernous malformation of the orbit (Movat pentachrome). Stromal magnification (inset). Asterisk (*) notes …
Footnotes
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Contributors DBR: design of the work, acquisition, analysis and interpretation of data, drafting the manuscript, final approval. JR: design of the work, acquisition and interpretation of data, revising the manuscript, final approval. VAW: interpretation of data, revising the manuscript, final approval.
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Competing interests None.
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Ethics approval University of British Columbia.
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Provenance and peer review Not commissioned; externally peer reviewed.
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Meeting presentation This research was presented at the 2013 Fall Scientific Symposium of the American Society of Ophthalmic Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery
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