infantile hemangioma

Infantile Hemangioma

" british spelling Haemangioma"

Introduction:

  An infantile hemangioma or " Strawberry mark" is the most common binign tumor in children. Hemangiomas are more frequent in girls than boys. The world " Hemangioma " cames from the greek haema- "blood", -angeio "vessel", -oma "tumor".

What is an infantile hemangioma ?

  Infantile hemangioma is a birthmark made of blood vessels. It is due to proliferating endothelial cells, these are the cells that line blood vessels.

When and Where do infantile hemangioma appear ?

  Hemangiomas may be present at birth, but the most of them appears in the first four to six weeks of life. They may first show up us a small bruise or a tiny red bump, then  they will grow to 80% of maximum size in the first three months and most stop growing at about 5months. however they may keep growing for up to 18month .
  Hemangiomas can be found  anywhere on the skin, including rarely in the organs of the body , but they occur most commonly in the head and neck region (60%).

Types of infantile hemangioma:

1- Superficial hemangioma: or "capillary naevus"

   occur on the uppermost layers  of the skin, are typically bright red to purple in color.


                                              

2- Deep hemangioma: or "cavernous hemangioma"

appear in the dermis, may be blue, purple, or even skin color.

3- Mixed hemangiomas: containing both a superficial and a deep component .

Causes:

The etiology of hemangioma remains unkown ( it's not clear what causes the blood vessels to group). however several studies have suggested différent hypothesis:

• it is reported that childbearing age, gestational hypertension and infant birth weight may be related to the formation of hemangioma.
• it is perhaps a hereditary component involved.
• also they suggested that maternal placenta embolizes to the fetal dermis during gestation resulting in hemangiomagenesis........

 Complications :

  Most cantaneous infantile hemangiomas are incomplicated and require no intervention. However some lesions may present with: 

• Ulceration:

   It is frequent when hemangiomas are rapidly proliferating in trauma or pressure prone locations.
An early white discoloration of the hemangioma surface in infants younger than 3 months may herald ulceration.
  The causes of ulceration isn't clear but may be resultof outstripped blood supply to the overlying skin or secondary to the action of certain cytokines. Ulceration is often painful and may lead to bleeding.

• Bleeding:

  It is rarely profuse and can generally be stopped with application of direct prossure .

• Visual obstruction:

   If a hemangioma around the eye grows rapidly, it may block the infant's vision.

Hemangioma Traitment:

  Tha most of infantile hemangiomas will not require treatment, because it will shrink over time and disappear completely on their own. However some of theme need treatment.

Treatment methodes:

   Many treatment modalities are currently available for management of head and neck hemangiomas, including careful observation, drug therapy, laser therapy and surgery. Surgical excision of hemangiomas is no longer the treatment of first choice today, except for a few cases involving eyelid or huge scalp hemangiomas. Cryosurgery has rarely been used in the treatment of facial and cervical hemangiomas owing to its uncertain efficacy and possibility of scarring or pigmentation. Radioisotope therapy has good efficacy for superficial hemangiomas. However, it’s often concurrent with skin atrophy, contracture, hyperpigmentation, hypopigmentation or hair loss etc. so care has to be taken during application on the face for aesthetic reasons.

conclution:

  If your child has any hemangioma, it's best to have him checked by a pediatrician who will let you know wether you shoud see a specialist  .

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About Unknown

Mohammed Yacine Ben Mebarek is the Founder Of Medical Culture and an Editor In it