This 6-year-old girl is the third child of a healthy 42-year-old woman and a non-consanguineous 52-year-old healthy man, whose family history was unremarkable. She was conceived naturally. She was born at term after a normal pregnancy: her fetal ultrasound scans were normal. Birth weight was 3.800 g (75th centile), length 51 cm (75th centile), and head circumference 36 cm (75th centile). At birth, macrodactyly of the I and II toe of the left foot with partial syndactyly between the 2nd and 3rd toes was recorded. Based on these clinical data, she was suspected to have Proteus syndrome. At the age of 1 month, a subcutaneous mass in her left abdominal region was observed. General physical examination at age 2 months showed that her weight was 5600 g (90th percentile), length 56 cm (50th percentile), and head circumference 38.5 cm (50th percentile). She presented macrodactyly of the I and II toes of the left foot with increased growth of the left leg and a subcutaneous mass in the left abdominal region; magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of the abdomen revealed that the mass was compatible with a subcutaneous lipoma, which was later confirmed by histological examination of a sample of biopsied tissue. The girl was first referred to one of our institutions at age 4 months and followed up at age 9 months, 3 years and 10/12 months, and 5 years; she is still under follow-up at our institutions. Cognitive development is normal. During her last diagnostic work-up and follow-up controls, she underwent surgery for reduction of the abdominal mass and for removal of the first toe and transposition of the second toe to replace the first toe. Skin biopsies from the affected (and unaffected contralateral) regions were obtained during these procedures (Fig. a).
This 2-year-old boy is the second child of a healthy 27-year-old woman and a non-consanguineous 28-year-old healthy man. Their family history was unremarkable. He was conceived naturally and was born at term after an uncomplicated pregnancy: his fetal ultrasounds were normal. His birth weight was 3650 g (75th percentile), length 52 cm (75th percentile), and head circumference 33 cm (50th percentile). Postnatally, increased growth of the trunk, widespread cutaneous capillary malformations, and gigantism with exadactyly of the right hand became evident, suggestive for a complex lymphatic-arteriovenous overgrowth malformation. Upon monthly follow-up visits, weight and length growth were regular; however, subcutaneous masses (Fig. A, B) and increased growth of the hand became more evident (Fig. B: 3,5). His development was apparently normal. MRI and computerized tomographic (CT) scans revealed vascular malformations and vesicles within the masses noted in the trunk, with variable extension into the retroperitoneal and mediastinum regions; x-ray examination of the hands confirmed the skeletal exadactyly of the right hand; histological examination of the affected (and unaffected) tissues confirmed the initial hypothesis of a mixed lymphatic-arteriovenous malformation in the spectrum of CLOVES syndrome. Skin biopsies from the affected (and unaffected contralateral) regions were obtained during these procedures (Fig. b).