Hemangioma (hemangioma)

A heman­gio­ma, col­lo­qui­al­ly known as a heman­gio­ma, is a benign tumor of the blood ves­sels that occurs par­ti­cu­lar­ly fre­quent­ly in infants and young child­ren. Around five to ten per­cent of all infants deve­lop a heman­gio­ma, with girls being affec­ted more fre­quent­ly than boys. Most heman­gio­mas are not pre­sent at birth, but deve­lop in the first few weeks of life.

Cau­ses

They appear as bright red, rai­sed lumps on the skin or as a bluish swel­ling if they are deeper. The cau­se lies in a dis­tur­bed deve­lo­p­ment of the blood ves­sels, alt­hough the exact mecha­nisms are not yet ful­ly unders­tood. Risk fac­tors are pre­ma­tu­ri­ty, low birth weight and fema­le gender.

Sym­ptoms

Hae­man­gio­mas typi­cal­ly go through three pha­ses: a growth pha­se in the first six to twel­ve months of life, a sta­bi­liza­ti­on pha­se and final­ly a spon­ta­neous regres­si­on that extends over seve­ral years. Around 50 per­cent of heman­gio­mas have dis­ap­peared by the age of five, 70 per­cent by the age of seven.

Tre­at­ment

Most heman­gio­mas are harm­less and do not requi­re tre­at­ment. Howe­ver, tre­at­ment is neces­sa­ry if they impair vital func­tions, for exam­p­le near the eyes, nose or mouth, if they ulce­ra­te or beco­me very lar­ge. The first choice of drug the­ra­py is pro­pra­no­lol, a beta blo­cker that stops the growth and pro­mo­tes regres­si­on. Alter­na­tively, laser the­ra­py or, in rare cases, sur­gi­cal rem­oval can be per­for­med. The pro­gno­sis is gene­ral­ly excel­lent and the vast majo­ri­ty of heman­gio­mas regress com­ple­te­ly or almost completely.