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Updated: Apr 11, 2026
A Patient-Derived Xenograft Model for Venous Malformation
Published on: June 15, 2020
[Congenital hemangiomas: Report on ten patients]
Insights
Congenital hemangiomas (CHs) are rare vascular tumors. This study highlights their varied presentation, potential overlap with vascular malformations, and that rapidly involuting CHs often leave sequelae.
Area of Science:
- Dermatology
- Pediatrics
- Vascular Surgery
Context:
- Congenital hemangiomas (CHs) are rare congenital vascular tumors.
- Limited literature exists on their clinical presentation and progression.
- This study investigates CHs diagnosed and treated at Besançon Hospital from 2008 to 2014.
Purpose:
- To describe the clinical presentation, diagnosis, and treatment of congenital hemangiomas.
- To analyze the progression and outcomes of different types of CHs, including rapidly involuting CHs (RICH) and non-involuting CHs (NICH).
- To explore potential overlapping features between CHs and vascular malformations.
Summary:
- Ten CHs (seven RICH, three NICH) in male infants were analyzed.
- Diagnosis was primarily clinical, with RICH showing variable involution times and sequelae (lipoatrophy, dysplastic veins).
- NICH presented without complications, but overlapping forms between RICH and NICH, and CH and vascular malformations were observed.
Impact:
- This study confirms the rarity of CHs and reports novel findings on NICH location and sex ratio.
- It underscores the polymorphous clinical presentation and progression of CHs.
- Findings suggest a potential link between proliferation and malformation phenomena in the origin of these lesions.
Introduction:
Congenital hemangiomas (CHs) are rare congenital vascular tumors seldom mentioned in the literature.
Materials And Methods:
We carried out a retrospective study of all the cases of CH diagnosed and treated at Besançon Hospital from 2008 to 2014. The clinical, radiological, and histological data of each case were collected. All the children were seen again in 2014.
Results:
Ten CHs (seven rapidly involuting CHs, RICH and three non-involuting CH, NICH), predominantly full-term eutrophic male infants, were enrolled. RICHs were located on the head (n=2), trunk (n=2), and lower limbs (n=3), and NICHs were found on the hands. Diagnosis was clinical for all ten infants. All CHs resembled "tumor" congenital lesions: single, oval-shaped, nonpulsatile, and well delimited, and their size did not increase after birth. Two RICHs were warm, one had phlebolites, and two had draining veins at the first visit. The mean age of the RICH involution onset was 1.7 months and the mean time to complete involution was 10.4 months. One CH was classified as a PICH (partially involuting CH) due to partial regression, two RICHs were still in the involution process at the age of 10 and 15 months, and one regressed very quickly within 7 days. No complications were observed in the NICH. Two RICHs presented benign complications (ulcerations and bleeding). Two RICHs regressed entirely, and five regressed with sequelae: lipoatrophy (n=3), cutaneous excess (n=2), dysplastic veins (n=3), a pigmented area (n=1), and an anemic halo (n=2).
Discussion:
The small number of patients in our cohort, in spite of the length of the study, confirms the rarity of CH. The sex-ratio in favor of male infants and the location of NICH on the hands have not been reported. The most discriminating element remained the follow-up over 1 year. The initial clinical aspect of the NICH and the progression of one RICH into a NICH suggested possible overlapping forms between RICH and NICH. Some CHs, including one PICH, presented clinical and radiological criteria similar to those of vascular malformations (warm lesion, dysplastic veins, and echo-Doppler results in favor of vascular malformation). RICH regressed with sequelae in most cases.
Conclusion:
This study reveals a polymorphous clinical presentation of CH and provides a thorough description of their progression. It underlines the existence of overlapping phenomena between RICH and NICH, and between CH and vascular malformations, thus suggesting a possible link between proliferation and malformation phenomena at the origin of these lesions.
