Treatment of hemangiomas in children

Although hemangiomas are frequently encountered in pediatric practice, their management has been controversial because they are notoriously unpredictable, especially in early infancy. In the past, clinicians believed that infant and childhood hemangiomas were best left untreated, due to spontaneous involution and the adverse effects of treatments such as radiotherapy and surgery. However, today there is an increased awareness of both the physical and psychological sequelae associated with hemangiomas, a small percentage of which can be life threatening and this has resulted in a renewed push to treat them. Furthermore, therapeutic advances have been made, and new therapies are on the horizon.