Topical timolol for small infantile hemangioma: a new therapy option

The main characteristic of infantile hemangioma is that it grows rapidly after birth and mostly regresses spontaneously. It is a common practice for only a small part of the hemangioma to be treated, as they can be extremely disfiguring and destructive to normal tissue as well as possibly being life-threatening. Recent studies have discovered that the use of topical 0.5% timolol maleate gel is a new therapy option for infantile hemangioma. We have treated two children with hemangioma in our pediatric day center with topical timolol gel (Nyogel). We examined the children before the therapy and took photographs of the hemangioma. After a period of two weeks, pictures were re-taken and compared. A significant change in color from dark red to a lighter shade of red and partially even to skin color could be detected. The treatment outcome of our cases indicates that timolol gel is well-tolerated and effective for the therapy for infantile hemangioma. We further want to highlight the necessity to treat even small hemangiomas, as a reliable prediction of the possible extent of the expansion and involution does not exist.