Refractive errors associated with hemangiomas of the eyelids and orbit in infancy

Asymmetrical refractive errors, both astigmatic and myopic, were associated with infantile hemangiomas of the eyelids and orbit in 46% of 37 patients who had large lesions and upper eyelid involvement predisposing to the ammetropia. The axis of the astigmatic error related to the location of the eyelid hemangioma and correlated closely with keratometric measurements of corneal astigmatism. The refractive errors tended to be stable despite eventual resolution of the hemangiomas. Efforts to combat strabismic and refractive amblyopia were rewarding in many patients. A history of complete eyelid occlusion during part of the first year of life was associated with dense amblyopia and eccentric fixation in some patients, but in other patients this history was compatible with the eventual development of useful vision. Absence of an asymmetrical refractive error in patients with eyelid and orbital hemangiomas rendered the prognosis for vision good in involved eyes.