Clinical characteristics, treatment and outcome of 28 oral haemangiomas in pediatric patients

OBJECTIVE:

To present a large series of oral haemangiomas in children, analyzing the clinical characteristics, treatment and outcome of oral haemangiomas in 28 children.

MATERIAL AND METHODS:

We conducted an observational retrospective study, reviewing medical records with clinical diagnosis of haemangioma between 1990 and 2006 at the Children’s Maxillofacial Surgery Service of the Hospital Universitario la Fe, Valencia. All patients with a clinical, radiographic, pathologically confirmed diagnosis of oral haemangioma were included.

RESULTS:

The study included 28 patients (19 females and 9 males) with a mean age of 4.27 years (range 0-14 years). Nine were congenital haemangioma. The most frequent location of oral haemangioma was in the lip with 23 cases, followed by three cases in the tongue and 2 in the buccal mucosa. The mean diameter of the lesion was 1.67 cm (range 1-3 cm). The mean duration of the lesion was 6.3 months (range 1 month to 5 years). Of the 28 haemangiomas, 13 were surgically removed, 2 were treated with embolization and 13 disappeared spontaneously. The mean follow up was 2.7 months (1-8 months). There were no cases of recurrence.

CONCLUSIONS:

Haemangiomas usually present in children, and can be seen from birth. They have a predilection for females. They are uncommon in the oral cavity. In the oral region, the most common location is the lip. Most congenital haemangioma regress spontaneously without treatment. The treatment of choice is surgical excision of the lesion.