Who are you, in one plain sentence?
By reputation and published record, the Vascular Anomalies Center at Boston Children’s Hospital is considered among the premier programs in the world for congenital vascular anomalies — and the team that wrote much of the science the rest of the field now follows.
Who do you see?
Their publicly stated scope is children and adults of all ages. Worth confirming when you make contact: whether your specific age, syndrome, and clinical picture fits their current intake. The good news is you may not need to travel to Boston. The VAC reviews cases remotely — submit records, photographs, and imaging, and the team responds in writing within three to four weeks with diagnosis, recommendations, and answers to your specific questions. In many cases they can suggest treatments your local team can provide. Worth asking whether remote review is the right first step before booking flights.
What conditions do you treat?
Their program pages describe the full ISSVA spectrum — vascular tumors and vascular malformations, including Klippel-Trenaunay, Parkes Weber, CLOVES, Sturge-Weber, PHACES, FAVA, and conditions still being defined. Worth asking when you contact them: whether they have seen cases similar to yours and how many.
What does your team look like?
26 physicians representing 18 departments — dermatology, interventional radiology, plastic and oral surgery, vascular surgery, orthopedics, genetics, hematology, neurology, pathology, and more. The full team meets weekly in a formal case conference. When you come to clinic, multiple specialists are in the room at the same time. Worth confirming which specialties would be present for a case like yours.
What can you actually do here?
Publicly described treatments: laser therapy, sclerotherapy, embolization, surgery, interventional radiology, drug management including investigational therapies, genetic testing, and access to clinical trials. Worth asking whether active protocols exist for your syndrome.
How do I get in?
No formal physician referral appears to be required. Email: vascular@childrens.harvard.edu. Submit intake questionnaire, recent clinical notes, color photographs (JPEG, patient name and DOB in subject line), and imaging. Phone: 617-355-5226 Mon–Fri. International: +1-617-355-5209. Worth confirming current intake procedures before assembling your records — a quick email first saves a misdirected transfer.
What makes you different?
The VAC team’s research identified PIK3CA mutations as a molecular driver of KTS, CLOVES, FAVA, and isolated lymphatic malformations. They helped define CLOVES as a distinct condition. Their classification work informed the ISSVA framework the entire field now uses. They hold a Comprehensive Center of Excellence designation in Lymphatic Diseases from LE&RN. Founded on the first international vascular anomalies meetings, held in Boston in 1976 and 1978. Programs with the deepest published record in this field tend also to be the ones most willing to say here’s what we think, here’s what we don’t know, and here’s who else you should talk to.
In Their Own Voice
The VAC describes its approach as interdisciplinary from the ground up — not a specialty clinic that occasionally consults other departments, but a program designed around the reality that complex vascular anomalies do not respect specialty boundaries. Their weekly case conference reviews cases from across the United States and around the world. Recommendations go back to referring physicians and families in writing, approved by a VAC physician. The program offers access to investigational drug therapies and explicitly maintains referral relationships with programs closer to patients’ homes.
Source: childrenshospital.org/services/vac · vac/meet-our-team · vac/contact-us. Verified: July 2026.
Pedigree
| Founded | Predecessor program 1976–1978; VAC designated 1999 |
| Address | Fegan Building, 3rd Floor, 300 Longwood Ave, Boston, MA 02115 |
| Phone | 617-355-5226 (Mon–Fri) · International: +1-617-355-5209 |
| vascular@childrens.harvard.edu | |
| Program | childrenshospital.org/services/vac |
| Patients | Children and Adults |
| ISSVA Registry | Listed — Multidisciplinary Teams |
| Team | 26 physicians · 18 departments |
| Leadership | Ahmad I. Alomari, MD (Co-Director, IR) · Steven J. Fishman, MD (Co-Director, Surgery) · Marilyn G. Liang, MD (Co-Director, Dermatology) |
| Key Research | PIK3CA in KTS/CLOVES/FAVA/LM · CLOVES defined · Mulliken classification (1982) · Hepatic Hemangioma Registry · Lymphatic Anomalies Registry |
| Designation | LE&RN Comprehensive Center of Excellence in Lymphatic Diseases |
Verification & Catalog Status
Catalog Cross-Reference: Pending — see Care4-Rare Compendium