Role of surgery in the treatment of hemangiomas. A retrospective study apropos of 29 surgically treated children

Conservative management is usually proposed for common childhood hemangiomas because most lesions resolve spontaneously. The authors report 29 cases of children with hemangiomas treated surgically. Surgical indications were defined at various stages. The study concerned 29 children operated in our pediatric surgery and plastic surgery departments between 1989 and 1995. The average postoperative follow-up was 3 years and 8 months. The average age of the patients was 5 years; two-thirds of children were girls. The hemangioma was a very large lesion, subcutaneous and cutaneous (mixed) in 23 cases, only subcutaneous in 2 cases, only cutaneous in 4 cases, and was located on the face in 19 cases. Six complications (5 ulcerations, 1 Kassabach-Merritt syndrome) were observed.