Hemangioma
What Is It?
A hemangioma is a bright red birthmark that can sometimes be the most noticeable feature on a little baby.
Hemangiomas often don't appear until a baby is a month old, and can continue to grow throughout infancy.
However, most of them disappear within 2 years. Earlier, they were generally left untreated because treatment
often resulted in complications. Recently, however, treatments have been improving. Mild cryosurgery, where the
hemangiomas are gently frozen, is a newly discovered treatment that is proving to be very useful.
This simple technique has yielded impressive results without complications.
One in every ten children is born with this kind of birthmark, and between fifty and sixty percent of them usually require some form of treatment.
Latest Treatments
Cutaneous hemangiomas are the most common tumors in infants and children. Apart from its unaesthetic appearance, approximately 5%
produce complications such as bleeding and infection. A new type of treatment for complicated cutaneous hemangiomas is the
intralesional bleomycin (BLM) injection, which provides considerable relief. BLM injection is simple, and is a very useful
treatment for complicated cutaneous hemangiomas.
Cavernous hemangiomas that involve the eyelid and obstruct vision are generally treated with steroid injections or laser treatments, which rapidly reduce the size of the lesions, allowing normal vision to develop. Large cavernous hemangiomas or mixed hemangiomas are treated, when appropriate, with oral steroids, and steroid injections directly into the hemangioma.
These days, lasers are being used to treat the bulk of hemangiomas. Lasers emitting yellow light selectively damage the blood vessels in the hemangioma, without damaging the overlying skin. Some physicians use a combination of steroid injections and laser therapy to treat the condition.
Hemangiomas on the face or neck should be treated as soon as they are discovered, to prevent them from becoming a major problem later. However, finding a qualified physician to treat this problem can be difficult, and generally family physicians and pediatricians are not familiar with the treatment of vascular bithmarks. That is why referral to a specialist is often necessary to explore effective treatment options.
The treatment of infant hemangiomas depends on the child's growth and development. The following treatments may be needed:
• Medications for heart failureWith early diagnosis and treatment, a child with a hemangioma can have a normal and happy life without the stigma of disfigurement.
• Embolization of the liver (blocking blood flow to the hemangioma)
• Ligation of the liver artery
• Surgery to remove the tumor