Telangiectasia

Telangiectasias are small enlarged blood vessels near the surface of the skin, usually they measure only a few millimetres. They can develop anywhere on the body but commonly on the face around the nose, cheeks and chin.

Features

Telangiectasias can result in nevus flammeus, which is a flat birthmark on the head or neck that spontaneously regresses. A port-wine stain, if present, will grow proportionately with the child. There is a high association with Sturge-Weber syndrome, a nevus formation in the skin supplied by the trigeminal nerve and associated with glaucoma, meningeal angiomas, and mental retardation. Finally, spider telangiectasias are a radial array of tiny arterioles that commonly occur in pregnant women and in patients with hepatic cirrhosis. In men, they are related to high estrogen levels secondary to liver disease.

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Telangiectasias may occur in a number of diseases, e.g. CREST syndrome (a variant of scleroderma) and hereditary hemorrhagic telangiectasia (Rendu-Osler-Weber syndrome).

Related Topics:
CREST syndrome - Scleroderma - Hereditary hemorrhagic telangiectasia

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