Should we give up on fetal lymphangioma?

Before the fetus is born, some problems with the child can be detected through prenatal examinations. Some mothers discovered during the examination that their fetus had lymphangioma and wanted to give up the child and have an abortion. In fact, there is no need to do this. Although lymphangioma can cause fetal malformations, this disease can be treated. Specific methods include: surgical treatment, cyst fluid aspiration and sclerotherapy!

1. Causes of Lymphangioma

The cause of lymphangioma is currently unclear. Most scholars believe that it is caused by congenital malformation of lymphatic vessels or certain reasons, such as trauma, inflammation, parasites, etc., which cause obstruction of lymphatic drainage at the site of disease, resulting in lymphatic retention, leading to lymphatic vessel expansion and proliferation.

Lymphangioma in children is mostly caused by congenital developmental malformations, trauma, etc., which is more common in adults. Some scholars have found in the study of the cause of cervical cystic lymphangioma that 62% of the affected fetuses have chromosomal abnormalities, indicating that the occurrence of lymphangioma may be related to abnormalities in the number of chromosomes or their subtypes in the patient.

Treatment of lymphangioma

Lymphangioma is different from hemangioma and will not disappear automatically. Therefore, if it is diagnosed, it should be treated as soon as possible. There are many treatments for lymphangioma. In addition to surgery, there are also tumor cyst fluid aspiration, injection of sclerosing agent after aspiration, heat therapy, radiotherapy, etc. It is generally believed that the treatment method should be determined based on the size and location of the tumor, the complexity of resection and the risk of the operation.

(1) Surgical treatment : Among various treatment methods, surgical resection is the first choice for lymphangioma. Lymphangioma is characterized by invasive growth and high recurrence rate. Therefore, depending on the site of occurrence and the scope of involvement, the tumor should be completely removed at one time as much as possible. If necessary, the affected organs can be partially or completely removed, and the surrounding lymphatic vessels should be ligated at the same time to prevent recurrence due to lymphatic fistula.

(2) Cyst fluid aspiration : Simple puncture and aspiration of the tumor fluid can only temporarily relieve the pressure of the tumor on the surrounding tissues or organs. Since the tumor cavity is connected to the lymphatic vessels, it will recur quickly. This method has been less used in recent years.

(3) Sclerotherapy : After puncture and aspiration of the tumor body fluid, the injection of OK-432, bleomycin, bleomycin, fiber sealants, etc. can promote inflammation and adhesion of the tumor wall, block the lymphatic ducts and prevent recurrence. Among them, the application of fiber sealants has the best effect and can even avoid surgery.

There are also other methods such as radiation, laser, and heat therapy, but the results are not ideal.

3. Prevention of Lymphangioma

Because the exact cause of lymphangioma is unclear, there is no effective prevention method. However, it is generally believed that during pregnancy, avoiding colds and viral infections, taking medications that may have adverse effects on the fetus, and avoiding exposure to radiation may reduce the incidence of congenital lymphangioma. Paying attention to personal and environmental hygiene, avoiding drug abuse, paying attention to personal protection when working in harmful environments, exercising appropriately, strengthening physical fitness, and improving one's own disease resistance can reduce the occurrence of adult lymphangioma.