News of the Passing of Dr. John Mulliken

21 January 2026

Dear ISSVA Colleagues,

It is with great sadness that we learn of the passing of ISSVA Founder, Dr. John Mulliken. Dr. Mulliken was truly a founding father of our field. His vision, intellectual rigor, and unwavering commitment shaped vascular anomalies into the discipline it is today and laid the foundation for ISSVA itself. Generations of clinicians and scientists—including many of us personally—stand on his shoulders.

Drs. John Mulliken and Anthony Young began The International Society for the Study of Vascular Anomalies (ISSVA) in 1976 as biennial international workshops. The organization is comprised of specialists interested in the diagnosis, management and investigation of Vascular Anomalies. ISSVA was officially founded in 1992, two years after its first International Workshop held in 1990 in Amsterdam. The basic concepts behind the workshops have been maintained over the years as the field burgeoned around the original classification of vascular anomalies developed, revised and codified by ISSVA. ISSVA will celebrate 50 years of meetings this year in Philadelphia, thanks to Dr. Mulliken and his work.

We have lost not only an extraordinary leader and scholar, but also a mentor and a deeply respected colleague. My thoughts, and those of the ISSVA Board, are with his wife and daughter, and with all who were close to him.

John’s legacy will endure in our work, our community, and in ISSVA.

Memorial contributions may be made to the Foundation for Faces of Children (website: facesofchildren.org).

With sincere condolences,
Prof. Leo Schultze Kool, ISSVA President
on behalf of the ISSVA Board of Directors

View the notice from Boston Children's. 

Click here to leave a tribute message. 

View an interview with Dr. Mulliken from Mass General.