Parkes Weber syndrome

Children’s Hospital Boston is home to the world’s largest vascular anomalies center. When doctors in other states or other countries need help diagnosing or treating vascular anomalies like PWS, they come to us. Here are some reasons why:

Innovative treatment

Traditionally, debulking — a surgical procedure where many of the abnormal vessels and some of the overgrown tissue is removed — has not been a standard treatment for kids with PWS. However, over the past 15 years, surgeons at Children’s Hospital Boston have been performing large-scale debulking procedures to help kids whose overgrown legs have left them wheelchair bound.

We’re hoping that this practice will achieve widespread acceptance because it makes a big difference in the lives of the kids who’ve had it performed here at Children’s.

Watch a video of one of our doctors talking about this procedure, and one in which he talks about recovery from the procedure. (Requires RealPlayer)
 

Battling PWS at its source

PWS is caused by errors that occur when blood and lymphatic vessels are forming. Our investigators are currently probing the genes and molecules that regulate the formation and growth of blood/lymphatic vessels. Understanding the genes that control these molecular events will hopefully result in new therapies for vascular malformations.

The VAC conducts research that may lead to the development of new, more effective therapies and perhaps ultimately result in ways to prevent these anomalies. Read more about our research.