Vascular anomalies of the maxillofacial region.

A biologic classification based on clinical behavior and endothelial cell characteristics is used to divide vascular birthmarks into two groups: hemangiomas and vascular malformations. This system is applied to vascular anomalies of the maxillofacial region and is demonstrated with illustrative cases. The distinction between hemangioma and vascular malformation is important for maxillofacial surgeons because hemangiomas rarely affect bone, whereas malformations affect bone in 35% of cases.