Centres in Australia and New Zealand are involved in world class research into Vascular Anomalies.  At the Gillies McIndoe Research Institute in Wellington, New Zealand the emphasis is on research into Haemangiomas of Infancy and related conditions. The Plastic Surgery research group at the Murdoch Children’s Research Institute at  the Royal Children’s Hospital in Melbourne is involved in clinical research, including clinical trials in vascular malformations.

Vascular Anomalies Research at the MCRI

At the  MCRI, our approach to research is holistic. While we have developed a number of research projects to understand why vascular anomalies occur and how we can use that information to develop new treatment options, we also have a number of research projects aimed at improving the quality of life in vascular anomalies patients. Our research team has made efforts to link with the vascular anomalies patients and their families and to listen to their concerns and answer some of their questions that would ease the burden of living with vascular anomalies.

The research team is closely linked to the Vascular Anomalies Clinic at the Royal Children Hospital . We have a strong collaboration with the Victorian Clinical Genetics Service and the laboratory of Dr. Michael Hildebrand at the Austin Hospital, developing new methods of genetic testing for vascular anomalies. In addition, our laboratory is involved in a number of clinical research projects aimed at more precisely defining unknown diagnoses and understanding how treatments affect the biology of vascular anomalies. We also have strong links to other laboratories around the world studying vascular anomalies.

We are running the first clinical trial of targeted therapies in vascular malformations, and will be involved in further trials in the future.

Prof Tony Penington is a group leader in the Plastic Surgery Research. He completed his medical degree in 1985 and his surgical training in 1995. He was awarded an MD degree by the University of Melbourne in 2008 and became the Jigsaw professor of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery in 2012.  He is Past President of the International Society for the Study of Vascular Anomalies.  In addition to his busy clinical practice, Tony has a strong research interest in vascular anomalies and leads a clinical research program aimed at improving plastic surgery practice ensuring our patients receive the highest level of care.

A/Prof Rod Philips is a paediatric skin specialist and a clinical researcher. He is a co-ordinator of the Royal Children’s Hospital Vascular Anomalies Centre. Rod has greatly contributed to our understanding of propranolol effect in treatment of infantile haemangioma. He actively participates in the vascular biology laboratory discussions and project development.

How can I support research?

The Australasian Vascular Anomalies Network is not directly involved in research funding.  If you wish to financially support research into vascular anomalies, in New Zealand you can contact the Gillies McIndoe Research Institute, in Australia you can contact the Jigsaw Foundation.  Both organisations will use funding to directly support research into vascular anomalies.

We welcome your participation in our research. For laboratory-based research projects it may be possible to contribute by donating tissue samples at the time of surgery that would otherwise be discarded. This will require you to read a consent form and sign it in the presence of a person who is not involved in your clinical management.

In the future we plan to have clinical research projects available through this site.  Please contact us if you wish to participate in clinical research projects in the future.

Selected publications:

• Lokmic, Z., Mitchell GM, Koh, N, Bastiaanse J, Gerrand Y-W, Williams, E.D. Penington A.J. Isolation of human lymphatic malformation endothelial cells, their in vitro characterization and in vivo survival in a mouse xenograft model. Angiogenesis, 2014;17(1):1-15
• Phillips R, Lokmic Z, Crock C, Penington A. Failed treatment of ulcerated haemangiomas. Archives of Disease in Childhood, 2014;50(8):619-25.
• R Phillips et al  Use of propranolol for treatment of infantile haemangiomas in an outpatient setting Journal of Paediatrics and Child Health 2012, 48: 902-6.
• Phillips et al Prolonged tumour growth after treatment of haemangioma of infancy with propranolol  Medical Journal of Australia 2017
• Penington Anthony (2021)  How I do it: Surgical resection of an AVM. Journal of Vascular Anomalies   Journal of Vascular Anomalies 2(2) e009.
• Chen R, Vrazas J, Penington AJ (2021)  Surgical management of intramuscular venous malformations.  Journal of Pediatric Orthopaedics 41(1): e67-e73.
• Wagner K, Lokmic Z, Penington AJ  Prolonged antibiotic treatment for infected low flow vascular malformations (2018) Journal of Pediatric Surgery 53(4): 798 – 801.