INFANTILE HEMANGIOMAS OF THE FACE: A CASE SERIES EVALUATION

Infantile hemangioma is the most common benign soft part tumor in childhood affecting 1-2 %of neonates and 10-12% of children up to the first year of life. It seems to be more frequent in females sex and in premature. In the period between July 2005 and December 2010, 36 patients underwent to infantile hemangioma treatments at the Pediatric Surgery Unit, S Anna Hospital, Ferrara, Italy. Patients included 18 females and 18 males. Age ranged from 3 months to 14.5 years with a mean value of 6.4 years at the time of admission. There were 22 hemangiomas, 8 linphangiomas and 6 spider naevi. 10, 16 and 10 were located in the lower, middle und upper third of the face. All were treated with surgery: 28 under general anesthesia, 4 under local anesthesia and 4 under sedation. There was one relapse in the right zygoma. Treatment of hemangiomas remains extremely controversial because there are a wide range of outcomes for hemangiomas from fully resolved to disfiguring scars, to life-treating obstructions, and it’s extremely hard to predict whether a given lesion is benign or whether it will impair the patient. Systemic corticoids, long considered as the therapy of choice have hard to control insidious adverse effects, beside response. The use of pulsed laser to treat uncomplicated hemangiomas had limited significant benefit. Surgical excision can be performed in selected cases.