What to do if your child has hemangioma

Hemangioma is a common and frequently occurring disease in pediatric clinical practice. Its cause is the proliferation of the vascular network during the embryonic period. Commonly found in the skin and subcutaneous tissue. Generally speaking, hemangioma is a benign tumor and those with mild symptoms do not require treatment. If the hemangioma is large and thick, it can be treated surgically.

Medication

1. No treatment required

(1) Neonatal nevus: Generally disappears gradually on its own within a few months and no treatment is required.

(2) Intradermal capillary hemangioma: Generally no treatment is required. If necessary, it can be concealed with cosmetics and occasionally removed.

2. Non-surgical treatments include drying, freezing, friction, hardeners, low voltage, electrocoagulation, short-distance radiotherapy, hormone therapy, etc. For spider nevus, you can use a red-hot needle to prick and burn the center of the tumor, which is more effective.

(1) Laser treatment: Yttrium aluminum garnet laser (Nd:YAG) has a strong coagulation effect on hemangiomas. According to the experience of Xiangya Hospital of Hunan Medical University, the application of Nd:YAG laser in the treatment of head and neck hemangiomas can often achieve good results. For capillary hemangiomas protruding from the epidermis, Nd:YAG laser coagulation treatment does not cause bleeding and does not leave scars after treatment; for subcutaneous cavernous hemangiomas, Nd:YAG laser fiber insertion irradiation can be considered; for hemangiomas that are deep and have unclear boundaries with the surrounding area, a combination of laser insertion irradiation and sclerosant injection can be considered. Xiangya Hospital once encountered a patient with a huge, deep-seated cavernous hemangioma in the neck. Hemangiomas were found in the oropharynx, hypopharynx, and nasopharynx. After the oropharyngeal hemangioma was treated with Nd:YAG laser coagulation and insertion irradiation, the neck hemangioma also shrank significantly.

(2) Cryotherapy: The principle of cryotherapy is to cause the formation of ice crystals in cells under rapid cooling, thereby destroying the intracellular structure. Commonly used refrigerants include liquid nitrogen, which is placed in various freezing devices for direct contact treatment. Because the penetration range of freezing is only a few millimeters. Therefore, it is only suitable for superficial hemangiomas, and the freezing time can only be within 10 seconds each time. If this limit is exceeded, tissue necrosis may occur. Treatment is given every 2 to 3 weeks. After the hemangioma is cured by this method, no scars will be left.

(3) Sclerotherapy: The principle is to inject sclerotherapy into the hemangioma to cause embolism, causing the tumor tissue to shrink and achieve the treatment goal. Foreign literature has mentioned a variety of hardening agents such as 5% sodium morrhuate, 50% glucose, 70% ethanol, etc., among which sodium morrhuate is more suitable. In recent years, Xiangya Hospital of Central South University in Hunan has used 10% alum to treat hemangiomas, with relatively satisfactory results.

3. Surgical treatment of larger hemangiomas can be performed by staged resection and skin grafting. If the hemangioma is connected to the carotid artery, surgery should be performed with extreme caution to avoid causing heavy bleeding. Residual hemangiomas after surgery may be treated with radiation therapy or other therapies.