1 Department of Surgery, Section of Pediatric Surgery, Department of Pathology, and Section of Nuclear Medicine, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, Connecticut
An active lymphatico-venous circulation, comparable to cutaneous tissue, was demonstrated in five infants and children with superficial lymphangiomas of the neck, axilla, and foot. The study was conducted by monitoring washout curves of externally administered Xe133. Although the vascularity of these lesions, as determined by microscopic examination, was similar to one another, an inverse correlation between the lymphatico-venous circulation and the gross size of the lymphangioma was demonstrated. The study implies the existence of a functional abnormality of lymphatico-venous drainage contributing to the size of lymphangiomas.