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Tufted angioma
Other Resources UpToDate PubMed

Tufted angioma

Contributors: Gayin Lee MD, Jinia El-Feghaly MD, Erin X. Wei MD, Shilpa S. Sawardekar MD, Susan Burgin MD
Other Resources UpToDate PubMed

Synopsis

Tufted angioma (TA), previously known as angioblastoma of Nakagawa, is a rare, benign, vascular tumor that is thought to be on the same clinical spectrum as kaposiform hemangioendothelioma (KHE). The name describes the presence of "tufts" of capillaries in the dermis as seen on histopathological sections.

TA typically presents at birth (15%-25% of cases) or within the first 5 years of life (50% of cases) as a red-violaceous plaque or nodule. Rarely, TAs arise in adulthood. There is no consistent sex or racial / ethnic predilection.

A TA will generally grow slowly over several months to up to a decade before stabilizing in size, and partial or complete regression may occur. TAs are initially painless, but they can become painful in a significant proportion of patients.

Three clinical patterns have been described: TA without complications, TA complicated with chronic coagulopathy without thrombocytopenia, and TA associated with Kasabach-Merritt phenomenon (KMP). The mortality rate from KMP is high, from 10%-30%.

Codes

ICD10CM:
D18.01 – Hemangioma of skin and subcutaneous tissue

SNOMEDCT:
254786000 – Tufted angioma of skin

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Last Reviewed:03/25/2026
Last Updated:03/25/2026
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Tufted angioma
A medical illustration showing key findings of Tufted angioma : Trunk, Tumor, Vascular plaque, Painful skin lesion
Clinical image of Tufted angioma - imageId=2384753. Click to open in gallery.  caption: 'A faint pink plaque with an uneven surface on the posterior thigh.'
A faint pink plaque with an uneven surface on the posterior thigh.
Copyright © 2026 VisualDx®. All rights reserved.