In 2024, the Brno University Hospital (FN Brno) was listed among the European expert centers focused on vascular diseases, becoming a so-called “Developing Partner” of the European Society of Professional Centres (VASCERN), part of the European reference network (ERN).
FN Brno is a member of the Vasca special working group, which deals with congenital vascular anomalies. The main representatives of the Czech team from FN Brno are Dr. Jaroslav Štěrba, Director of the Children’s Oncology Clinic, and Dr. Olga Košková, Deputy Director for Education at the Clinic of Burns and Plastic Surgery.
“We are entering the mainstream of scientific knowledge in the field of vascular diseases, and gaining access to clinical studies and new treatment options,” said Štěrba.
Advances in the diagnosis and treatment of vascular anomalies
In the last decade, the field of diagnosis and treatment of vascular anomalies around the world has seen a fundamental development, mainly thanks to molecular genetic examinations and the subsequent possibility of systemic treatment. In the Czech Republic, however, there has not yet been a team to comprehensively deal with the issue of vascular anomalies. FN Brno joining the VASCERN network was preceded by the creation of a multidisciplinary team within the Centre of Precision Medicine, known as the Commission for the diagnosis and treatment of vascular anomalies (KDLVA). This team brings together experts in the care of paediatric and adult patients with all types of vascular anomalies, e.g. hemangiomas, lymphatic, venous or arteriovenous malformations.
“Essentially, this is any excess vascular tissue that deforms human organs or their parts,” explained Košková. The multidisciplinary vascular team at FN Brno includes specialists from the fields of oncology, dermatology, surgery, radiology, genetics and others. It is a combination of precise diagnostics, local, surgical and systemic treatments that is still unique in the Czech Republic. Patients with rare vascular anomalies no longer have to visit individual clinics separately, but their diagnosis is reached by a multidisciplinary team that determines a comprehensive individual treatment plan.
International cooperation
The FN Brno team is now gaining the experience necessary for full membership in the VASCERN network, and at the same time is participating in the creation of a European register of patients with vascular disease. “Thanks to sharing experience with European colleagues, we have access to the latest knowledge, even on the rarest types of vascular diseases,” added Košková. “Sharing this data is extremely beneficial for the further development of diagnostics and treatment.”
Annually, FN Brno starts treatment for approximately 50 new patients with vascular anomalies. Paediatric patients are cared for by the vascular section of the Paediatric Clinic and the outpatient department of the Paediatric Oncology Clinic; adult patients will go to the Vascular Anomalies Outpatient Clinic at the Burns and Plastic Surgery Clinic, established under the direction of Košková, which serves as an entry point for admission to the comprehensive monitoring of adult patients with vascular anomalies.
