Hemangioma is the most common vascular tumor. It has the appearance of red spots on various parts of the body, including the face. According to statistics, one child out of a hundred is born with her.
Hemangiomas – benign vascular tumors – are simple (located on the plane of the skin), cavernous (located under the skin), combined (consisting of the skin and subcutaneous parts) and mixed (consisting of the hemangioma itself and other tissues – muscular or nervous). Simple hemangiomas occur in 70-80% of cases.
The final cause of the appearance of hemangiomas is currently unclear. But it is believed that acute respiratory infections, which the mother had in the first 3-6 weeks of pregnancy, when the fetal vascular system is being laid, can lead to them.
In 97% of cases, hemangiomas are detected already at birth. But sometimes they are found in babies in the first month of life and grow until the age of six months, and then their growth slows down.
Treatment of hemangiomas located on the face, in the ear region or on the neck is complicated due to the abundant blood supply to these parts of the body. Fortunately, such tumors occur only in 0.5% of cases.
It is also very difficult to treat hemangiomas located in the area of the mammary gland in girls, on the hands and feet, in the perineum. Hemangiomas are especially dangerous for premature babies: they grow 2-3 times faster in them than in babies born in the period.
About 7% of hemangiomas may disappear on their own as the baby grows. By the way, this distinguishes them from other tumors. But, as a rule, the most harmless disappear – simple and located in closed areas of the body.
A few years ago, specialists abandoned traditional surgical methods of treatment, and now in 95% of cases such vascular tumors are treated parasurgically. Such treatment can be started from a very early age – almost immediately after the diagnosis is made. And the sooner you start, the better the results will be.
Seventy percent of hemangiomas are treated cryogenically, using liquid nitrogen at a temperature of 196 degrees. Healing with all this occurs without a scar, which is very important for babies. The number of cryotherapy sessions depends on the size of the hemangioma. At one time, a tumor of 10 square meters can be removed. see Treatment is carried out on an outpatient basis, without anesthesia. Complications, as a rule, do not happen. After completion of the procedures, no special therapy is required. It is enough for parents to treat the place where the hemangioma was, with brilliant green, and then with baby cream.
For deep cavernous hemangiomas (including those on the face), the method of microwave cryodeformation is used. In this case, the hemangioma is irradiated with a microwave field, and then subjected to cryotherapy.
Children of the first six months of life (with hemangiomas with a total area of more than 100 sq. cm or occupying half of the baby’s body) are well helped by hormone therapy using prednisolone tablets. For hemangiomas of the orbit of the eyes and within the orbital region, radiation treatment is recommended. For a tumor in the ear region, on the face, neck, an angiography and embolization technique has been developed (that is, vasoconstriction and blocking of blood flow to the tumor). Surgical treatment is used only for deeply located hemangiomas in closed areas of the body and limbs.
The effectiveness of treatment of simple hemangiomas is 99.9%, complex – 98.6%. The goal of treatment is to eliminate the tumor process, stop tumor growth, and obtain the best functional and cosmetic result. And if, with malignant tumors, cosmetology issues do not really worry the parents of the crumbs, then here they are of paramount importance. Especially if the child is a girl. By the way, in babies, hemangiomas are 2-3 times more common than in boys. The objectives of the treatment of hemangiomas can be briefly formulated as follows: “from health to beauty.” Correctly chosen method and timely treatment allows you to make your baby not only healthy, but also beautiful.