The Role of Diode Laser in Management of Oral Hemangiomas and Venous Malformations

Infantile hemangiomas affect 4%-10% of children under 1 year, while venous malformations (VMs) occur in 1-5/10,000 births. Oral hemangiomas (OHs) often ulcerate and lead to complications, whereas VMs can cause significant morbidity through bleeding, painful expansion, or obstruction of vital structures. Early and effective treatment is crucial, and intralesional diode laser therapy has been proposed as a promising intervention.

A prospective interventional cohort was conducted on 40 patients: 29 patients with OH and 11 patients with oral VMs at the pediatric surgery department of Cairo University Children Hospital. A 980-nm diode laser (Lasotronix-Smart M^®) was used for intralesional coagulation and excision. Outcomes, including lesion size, color improvement, and patient-reported satisfaction, were assessed at 1- and 6-month posttreatment.

The median pretreatment lesion size of 16.5 mm significantly decreased to 13.2 mm (P < 0.01). Color improvement was observed as normal in 25% of cases, near normal in 52.5%, slight improvement in 17.5%, and no change in 5%. Fifty percent of patients reported their condition as "much better." Complications included edema in 87.5%, ulceration in 30%, bleeding in 7.5%, infection in 7.5%, and recurrence in 2.5%.

Intralesional diode laser therapy is a safe and effective modality for managing OHs and VMs in children, providing significant cosmetic and functional benefits with a low recurrence rate.