The Surgical Management of Infantile Hemangiomas

The surgical management of facial infantile hemangiomas presents a unique challenge. The aim of the surgeon should be to remove the hemangioma and to restore normal facial features. Each of the facial zones has its own special features and challenges. The surgeon should remember that the child started out with normal anatomy and that as the hemangioma proliferated, it displaced and thinned these normal structures and, in many cases, expanded adjacent tissue. Hemangiomas do not as a rule invade adjacent tissues as they proliferate. These facts will help in planning the various surgical approaches.