Treatment

Although there's no cure for Klippel-Trenaunay syndrome, your doctor can help you manage symptoms and prevent complications.

Because KTS may affect many systems in the body, your health care team may include specialists in vascular medicine and surgery, skin diseases (dermatology), interventional radiology, orthopedic surgery, physical therapy and rehabilitation, and other areas as needed.

You and your doctor can work together to determine which of the following treatments are most appropriate for you. Treatments may include:

• Compression therapy. Bandages or elastic garments are wrapped around affected limbs to help prevent swelling, problems with varicose veins and skin ulcers. These bandages or elastic garments often need to be custom-fit. Intermittent pneumatic compression devices — leg or arm sleeves that automatically inflate and deflate at set intervals — may be used.
• Physical therapy. Massage, compression and limb movement as appropriate may help relieve lymphedema in arms or legs and swelling of the blood vessels.
• Orthopedic devices. These may include orthopedic shoes or shoe inserts to compensate for differences in leg length.
• Epiphysiodesis (ep-ih-fiz-e-OD-uh-sis). This is an orthopedic surgical procedure that effectively can stop length overgrowth of the lower limb.
• Embolization. This procedure, performed through small catheters placed into the veins or arteries, blocks blood flow to certain blood vessels.
• Laser therapy. This procedure may be used to lighten port-wine stains and to treat early blebs on the skin.
• Laser or radiofrequency ablation of veins. This minimally invasive procedure is used to close off abnormal veins.
• Sclerotherapy. A solution is injected into a vein, which creates scar tissue that helps close the vein.
• Surgery. In some cases, surgical removal or reconstruction of affected veins, removal of excess tissue, and correction of the overgrowth of bone may be beneficial.
• Medication. Early research indicates that a drug called sirolimus (Rapamune) may help to treat symptomatic complex vascular malformations, but it may have significant side effects and more studies are needed.

In addition, treatment may be needed for complications such as bleeding, pain, infection, blood clots or skin ulcers.